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littp://www.arcliive.org/details/fallofenglandbatOOclies 


r  c 


|jtc  Jail  4  falimd? 


•"The  writer,  Evmg  aborrt  1925,  giTcs  Ms  3«n  an  account  ot  Ms  adyentnre* 
as  a  VohmtcCT  during  the  invasion  of  England  fifty  years  befosev  and'  aa 
powerful  is  the  narrative,  so  intensely  real  the  impxesaicm  it  produces,  that 
the  coolest  disbeliever  in  panics  cannot  lead  it  withont  a  flush  of  annoyance, 
or  close  it  withoat  the  thoo^t  that  aifte?  all,  as  the  wodd  now  stands,  some 
such  hmniliatiOB  for  England  is  at  least  poeeible."  #  *  »  *  "KthewratA 
is,  as  reported.  Col.  Hsmley,  then  CoL  Handey,  when  &e  wrote-  Wee-  ebarming 
story  of  "Lady  Lee's  Widowhood,"  HMseoneeived,  as  »  BoveHst,  the  natura 
of  his  own  powers.    He  shouid  rival  Defoe,  not  Anthony  Trollope." 

—Loudon  ^'' Spectatoe"  Jfojt  13,  ISTE. 


}\t  Jfall  of  f  ttgland 


THE  BATTLE  OF  DORKIIfe : 


REMINISCENCES   OF  A  VOLUNTEER. 


'~1 


By  a  Oordtibutar  to  "Blackwood.'' 


NEW  YORK: 
G.    P.    PUTNAM    &    SONS, 

ASSOCIATION  BUILDING,  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET. 
1871. 


Lakox  &  HiujiAN,  Printers  and  Sterbottpees 
108  TO  114  WoosTKR  St.,  N.  Y. 


THE    BATTLE     OF    DORKING: 


REMINISCENCES  OP  A  VOLUNTEER. 


YOU  ask  me  to  tell  you,  my  grand -cliildren,  something 
about  my  own  share  in  the  great  events  that  hap- 
pened fifty  years  ago.  'Tis  sad  work  turning  back  to 
that  bitter  page  in  our  history,  but  you  may,  perhaps, 
take  profit  in  your  new  homes  from  the  lesson  it  teaches. 
For  us  in  England,  it  came  too  late.  And  yet  we  had 
plenty  of  warnings,  if  Ave  had  only  made  use  of  them. 
The  danger  did  not  come  on  us  unawares.  It  burst  on 
us  suddenly,  'tis  true,  but  its  coming  was  foreshadowed 
plainly  enough  to  open  our  eyes,  if  we  had  not  been  wil- 
fully blind.  AVe  English  have  only  ourselves  to  blame 
for  the  humiliation  which  has  been  brought  on  the  land. 
Venerable  old  age  !  Dishonorable  old  age,  I  say,  when 
it  follows  a  manhood  dishonored  as  ours  has  been.  I 
declare,  even  now,  though  fifty  years  have  passed,  I  can 
hardly  look  a  young  man  in  the  face  when  I  think  I  am 
one  of  those  in  whose  youth  happened  this  degradation 
of  Old  England — one  of  those  who  betrayed  the  trust 
handed  down  to  us  unstained  by  our  fore-fathers. 

What  a  proud  and  happy  country  was  this  fifty  years 
ago  !  Free  trade  had  been  working  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  end  to 
the  riches  it  was  bringing  us.  London  was  growing 
bigger  and  bigger;  you  could  not  build  houses  fast 
enough  for  the  rich  people  who  wanted  to  live  in  them,  the 


6  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

merchants  who  made  the  money,  and  came  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  to  settle  there,  and  the  lawyers,  and  doctors, 
and  engineers  and  others,  and  trades-people,  who  got  their 
share  out  of  the  profits.  The  streets  reached  down  to 
Croydon  and  Wimbledon,  which  my  father  could  re- 
member quite  country  places ;  and  people  used  to  say 
that  Kingston  and  Reigate  would  soon  be  joined  to  Lon- 
don. We  thought  we  could  go  on  building  and  multi- 
plying for  ever.  'Tis  true,  that  even  then  there  was  no 
lack  of  poverty ;  the  people  who  had  no  money  went  on 
increasing  as  fast  as  the  rich,  and  pauperism  was  already 
beginning  to  be  a  difficulty ;  but  if  the  rates  were  high, 
there  was  plenty  of  money  to  pay  them  with ;  and  as  for 
what  were  called  the  middle  classes,  there  really  seemed 
no  limit  to  their  increase  and  prosperity.  People  in  those 
days  thought  it  quite  a  matter  of  course  to  bring  a 
dozen  children  into  the  world — or,  as  it  used  to  be  said, 
Providence  sent  them  that  number  of  babies ;  and  if  they 
couldn't  always  marry  off  all  the  daughters,  they  used  to 
manage  to  provide  for  the  sons,  for  there  were  new  open- 
ings to  be  found  in  all  the  professions,  or  in  the  Govern- 
ment offices,  which  went  on  steadily  getting  larger.  Be- 
sides, in  those  days  young  men  could  be  sent  out  to 
India,  or  into  the  army  or  navy;  and  even  then  emi- 
gration was  not  uncommon,  although  not  the  regular 
custom  it  is  now.  Schoolmasters,  like  all  other  profes- 
sional classes,  drove  a  capital  trade.  They  did  not  teach 
very  much,  to  be  sure,  but  new  schools  with  their  four 
or  five  hundred  boys  were  springing  up  all  over  the 
country. 

Fools  that  we  were !  We  thought  that  all  this  wealth 
and  prosperity  were  sent  us  by  Providence,  and  could 
not  stop  coming.  In  our  blindness,  we  did  not  see  that 
we  were  merely  a  big  workshop,  making  up  the  things 
which  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world ;   and  that  if 


REltlNISCEXCES    OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  7 

other  nations  stopped  sending  us  raw  goods  to  work  up, 
we  could  not  jjroduce  them  ourselves.  True,  we  had  in 
those  days  an  advantage  in  our  cheap  coal  and  iron ;  and 
had  we  taken  care  not  to  waste  the  fuel,  it  might  have 
lasted  us  longer.  But  even  then  there  were  signs 
that  coal  and  iron  would  soon  become  cheaper  in  other 
parts ;  while  as  to  food  and  other  things,  England  was 
not  better  off  than  it  is  now.  We  were  so  rich  simply 
because  other  nations  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were 
in  the  habit  of  sending  their  goods  to  us  to  be  sold  or 
manufactured ;  and  we  thought  that  this  would  last  for- 
ever. And  so,  perhaps,  it  might  have  lasted,  if  we  had 
only  taken  proper  means  to  keep  it ;  but,  in  our  folly, 
we  were  too  careless  even  to  insure  our  prosperity,  and 
after  the  course  of  trade  was  turned  away  it  would  not 
come  back  again. 

And  yet,  if  ever  a  nation  had  a  plain  warning,  we 
had.  If  we  were  the  greatest  trading  country,  our  neigh- 
bors were  the  leading  military  power  in  Europe,  They 
were  driviag  a  good  trade,  too,  for  this  was  before  their 
foolish  communism  (about  which  you  will  hear  when  you 
are  older)  had  ruined  the  rich  without  benefitting  the 
poor,  and  they  were  in  many  respects  the  first  nation  in 
Europe ;  but  it  was  on  their  army  that  they  prided  them- 
selves, most — and  with  reason.  They  had  beaten  the 
Russians,  and  the  Austrians,  and  the  Prussians  too,  in 
by-gone  years,  and  they  thought  they  were  invincible. 
Well  do  I  remember  the  great  review  held  at  Paris  by 
the  Emperor  Napoleon,  during  the  great  Exhibition,  and 
how  proud  he  looked  showing  off  his  splendid  Guards  to 
the  assembled  kings  and  princes.  Yet  three  years  after- 
wards, the  force  so  long  deemed  the  first  in  Europe  was 
igiiominiously  beaten,  and  the  whole  army  taken  prison- 
ers. Such  a  defeat  had  never  happened  before  in  the 
world's  history  ;   and  with  this  proof  before  us  of  the 


8  THE   BAITLE    OF   DOKKING  : 

folly  of  disbelieving  in  the  possibility  of  disaster,  merely 
because  it  had  never  happened  before,  it  might  have 
been  supposed  that  we  should  have  the  sense  to  take  the 
lesson  to  heart.  And  the  country  was  certainly  roused 
for  a  time,  and  a  cry  was  raised  that  the  army  ought  to 
be  reorganised,  and  our  defences  strengthened  against 
the  enormous  power  for  sudden  attacks  which  it  was 
seen  other  nations  were  able  to  put  forth.  But  our  Gov- 
ernment had  come  into  office  on  a  cry  of  retrenchment, 
and  could  not  bring  themselves  to  eat  their  own  pledges. 
There  was  a  radical  section  of  their  party,  too,  whose 
votes  had  to  be  secured  by  conciliation,  and  which 
blindly  demanded  a  reduction  of  armaments  as  the  price 
of  allegiance.  This  party  always  decried  military  estab- 
lishments as  part  of  a  fixed  policy  for  reducing  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Crown  and  the  aristocracy.  They  could  not 
understand  that  the  times  had  altogether  changed,  that 
the  Crown  had  really  no  power,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment merely  existed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  that  even  Parliament-rule  was  beginning 
to  give  way  to  mob-law.  At  any  rate,  the  Ministry 
were  only  too  glad  of  this  excuse  to  give  np  all  the 
strong  points  of  a  scheme  which  they  were  not  really  in 
earnest  about.  The  fleet  and  the  Channel,  they  said, 
were  sufiicient  protection.  So  the  army  was  kept  down, 
and  the  militia  and  volunteers  were  left  untrained  as  be- 
fore, because  to  call  them  out  for  drill  would  "  interfere 
with  the  industry  of  the  country.."  We  could  have 
gi\en  up  some  of  the  industry  of  those  days  forsooth, 
and  yet  be  busier  than  we  ai'e  now.  But  why  tell  you 
a  tale  you  have  so  often  heard  already?  The  nation, 
although  uneasy,  was  misled  by  the  false  security  its 
leaders  professed  to  feel ;  the  warning  given  by  the  dis- 
asters that  overtook  France  Avas  allowed  to  pass  by  un- 
heeded.    The  French  trusted  in  their  arniy  and  in  its 


REMI2^ISCEXCES    OF    A   VOLUNTEER.  9 

great  reputation ;  we  in  our  fleet ;  and  in  each  case  the 
result  of  this  blind  confidence  Avas  disaster,  such  as  our 
forefathers  in  their  hardest  struggles  could  not  have  even 
imagined. 

I  need  hardly  tell  you  how  the  crash  came  about. 
First,  the  rising  in  India  drew  away  a  part  of  our  small 
army  ;  then  came  the  difficulty  with  America,  which  had 
been  threatening  for  years,  and  we  sent  ofi"  ten  thousand 
men  to  defend  Canada — a  handful  which  did  not  go  far 
to  strengthen  the  real  defences  of  that  country,  but 
formed  an  irresistible  temptation  to  the  Americans  to  try 
and  take  them  prisoners,  especially  as  the  contingent 
included  three  battalions  of  the  Guards.  Thus  the  re- 
gular army  at  home  was  even  smaller  than  usual,  and 
nearly  half  of  it  was  in  Ireland  to  check  the  talked-of 
Fenian  invasion  fitting  out  in  the  West.  "Worse  still — 
though  I  do  not  know  it  would  really  have  mattered  as 
things  turned  out — the  fleet  was  scattered  abroad;  some 
shij3S  to  guard  the  West  Indies,  others  to  check  priva- 
teering in  the  Chinese  seas,  and  a  large  party  to  try  and 
protect  our  colonies  on  the  Xorthern  Pacific  shore  of 
America,  where,  with  incredible  folly,  we  continued  to 
retain  possessions  which  we  could  not  possibly  defend. 
America  was  not  the  great  power  forty  years  ago  that  it 
is  now;  but  for  us  to  try  and  hold  territory  on  her 
shores  which  could  only  be  reached  by  sailing  round  the 
Horn,  was  as  absurd  as  if  she  had  attempted  to  take  the 
Isle  of  Man  before  the  independence  of  Ireland.  We  see 
this  plainly  enough  now,  but  we  were  all  blind  then. 

It  was  while  we  were  in  this  state,  with  our  ships  all 
over  the  world,  and  our  little  bit  of  an  army  cut  up  into 
detachments,  that  the  Secret  Treaty  was  published,  and 
Holland  and  Denmark  were  annexed.  People  say  now 
that  we  might  have  escaped  the  troubles  which  came  on 
us  if  we  had  at  any  rate  kept  quiet  till  our  other  difficulty 
1* 


10  THE    BATTLE    OF    DORKING: 

was  settled ;  but  the  English  were  always  an  impulsive 
lot :  the  whole  country  was  boiling  over  with  indigna- 
tion, and  the  Government,  egged  on  by  the  press,  and 
going  with  the  stream,  declared  war.  We  had  always 
got  out  of  scrapes  before,  and  we  believed  our  old  luck 
and  pluck  would  somehow  pull  us  through. 

Then,  of  course,  there  was  bustle  and  hurry  all  over 
the  land.  Not  that  the  calling  up  of  the  army  reserves 
caused  much  stir,  for  I  think  there  were  only  about  5,000 
altogether,  and  a  good  many  of  these  were  not  to  be 
found  when  the  time  came ;  but  recruiting  was  going  on 
all  over  the  country,  with  a  tremendous  high  bounty, 
50,000  more  men  having  been  voted  for  the  army.  Then 
there  was  a  ballot  bill  passed  for  adding  55,000  men  to 
the  militia ;  why  a  round  number  was  not  fixed  on  I 
don't  know,  but  the  Prime  Minister  said  that  this  was  the 
exact  quota  wanted  to  put  the  defences  of  the  country  on 
a  sound  footing.  Then  the  shipbuilding  that  began  ! 
Ironclads,  despatch-boats,  gunboats,  monitors, — every 
building-yard  in  the  country  got  its  job,  and  they  were 
offering  ten  shillings  a-day  wages  for  anybody  who  could 
drive  a  rivet.  This  didn't  improve  the  recruiting,  you 
may  suppose.  I  remember,  too,  there  was  a  squabble  in 
the  House  of  Commons  about  whether  the  artisans  should 
be  drawn  for  the  ballot,  as  they  were  so  much  wanted, 
and  I  think  they  got  an  exemption.  This  sent  numbers 
to  the  yards ;  and  if  we  had  had  a  couple  of  years  to 
prepare  instead  of  a  couple  of  weeks,  I  daresay  we  should 
have  done  very  well. 

It  was  on  a  Monday  that  the  declaration  of  war  was 
announced,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  got  our  first  inkling 
of  the  sort  of  preparation  the  enemy  had  made  for  the 
event  which  they  had  really  brought  about,  although 
the  actual  declaration  was  made  by  us.  A  pious  appeal 
to  the  God  of  battles,  whom  it  was  said  we  hfid  aroused, 


„■«> 


■■"^^aea:, 


REMINISCENCES    OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  11 

was  telegraphed  back ;  and  from  that  moment  all  com- 
munication with  the  north  of  Europe  was  cut  off.  Our 
embassies  and  legations  were  packed  off  at  an  hour's 
notice,  and  it  was  as  if  we  had  suddenly  came  back  to 
the  middle  ages.  The  dumb  astonishment  visible  all 
over  London  the  next  morning,  when  the  papers  came 
out  void  of  news,  merely  hinting  at  what  had  happened, 
was  one  of  the  most  startling  things  in  this  war  of  sur- 
prises. But  everything  had  been  arranged  beforehand  ; 
nor  ought  we  to  have  been  surprised,  for  we  had  seen 
the  same  Power,  only  a  few  months  before,  move  down 
half  a  million  of  men  on  a  few  days'  notice,  to  conquer 
the  greatest  military  nation  in  Europe,  with  no  more 
fuss  than  our  War  Office  used  to  make  over  the  transport 
of  a  brigade  from  Aldershot  to  Brighton — and  this,  too, 
without  the  ullies  it  had  now.  What  happened  now  was 
not  a  bit  more  wonderful  in  reality  ;  but  people  of  this 
country  could  not  bring  themselves  to  believe  that  what 
had  never  occurred  before  to  England  could  ever  pos- 
sibly happen.  Like  our  neighbors,  we  became  wise 
when  it  was  too  late. 

Of  course  the  papers  were  not  long  in  getting  news — 
even  the  mighty  organization  set  at  work  could  not  shut 
out  a  special  correspondent ;  and  in  a  very  few  days, 
although  the  telegraphs  and  railways  were  intercepted 
right  across  Europe,  the  main  facts  oozed  out.  An  em. 
bargo  had  been  laid  on  all  the  shipping  in  every  port 
from  the  Baltic  to  Ostend ;  the  fleets  of  the  two  great 
Powers  had  moved  out,  and  it  was  supposed  were  assem- 
bled in  the  great  northern  harbor,  and  troops  were  hur- 
rying on  board  all  the  steamers  detained  in  these  places, 
most  of  which  were  British  vessels.  It  was  clear  that 
invasion  was  intended.  Even  then  we  might  have  been 
saved,  if  the  fleet  had  been  ready.  The  forts  which 
guarded  the  flotilla  were  perhaps  too  strong  for  shipping 


12  TDE    BATTLE    OF    DOEKING  : 

to  attempt ;  but  an  iron-clad  or  two,  handled  as  British 
sailors  knew  how  to  use  them,  might  have  destroyed  or 
damaged  a  part  of  the  transports,  and  delayed  the  expe- 
dition, givhig  us  what  we  wanted,  time.  Bnt  then  the 
Lest  part  of  the  fleet  had  been  decoyed  down  to  the 
Dardanelles,  and  what  remained  of  the  Channel  squadron 
was  looking  after  Fenian  fillibusters  ofl'  the  west  of  Ire- 
land ;  so  it  was  ten  days  before  the  fleet  was  got  together, 
and  by  that  time  it  was  plain  the  enemy's  preparations 
were  too  far  advanced  to  be  stopped  by  a  coup-de-main. 
Information,  which  came  chiefly  through  Italy,  came 
slowly,  and  was  more  or  less  vague  and  uncertain ;  but 
this  much  was  known,  that  at  least  a  couple  of  hundred 
thousand  men  were  embarked  or  ready  to  be  put  on 
board  ships,  and  that  the  flotilla  was  guarded  by  more 
iron-clads  than  we  could  then  muster.  I  suppose  it  was 
the  uncertainty  as  to  the  point  the  enemy  would  aim  at 
for  landing,  and  the  fear  lest  he  should  give  us  the  go- 
by, that  kept  the  fleet  for  several  days  in  the  Downs,  but 
it  was  not  until  the  Tuesday  fortnight  after  the  declara- 
tion of  war  that  it  weighed  anchor  and  steamed  away  for 
the  North  Sea.  Of  course  you  have  read  about  the 
Queen's  visit  to  the  fleet  the  day  before,  and  how  she 
sailed  round  the  ships  in  her  yacht,  and  went  on  board 
the  flag-ship  to  take  leave  of  the  admiral ;  how,  over- 
come with  emotion,  she  told  him  that  the  safety  of  the 
country  was  committed  to  his  keeping.  You  remember, 
too,  the  gallant  old  officer's  reply,  and  how  all  the  ships' 
yards  were  manned,  and  how  lustily  the  tars  cheered  as 
her  Majesty  was  rowed  ofl'.  The  account  was  of  course 
telegraphed  to  London,  and  the  high  spirits  of  the  fleet 
infected  the  wliole  town.  I  was  outside  the  Charing 
Cross  station  when  the  Queen's  special  train  from  Dover 
arrived,  and  from  the  cheering  and  shouting  which 
greeted  her  as  she  drove  away,  you  might  have  supposed 


REMINISCENCES    OF    A    VOLUNTEER.  13 

we  liad  already  won  a  great  victory.  The  journals 
which  had  gone  in  strongly  for  the  army  reduction  car- 
ried out  during  the  session,  and  had  been  nervous  and 
desponding  in  tone  daring  the  past  fortnight,  suggesting 
all  sorts  of  compromises  as  a  way  of  getting  out  of  the 
war,  came  out  in  a  very  jubilant  form  next  morning. 
"  Panic-stricken  inquirers,"  they  said,  "  ask  now,  where 
are  the  means  of  meeting  the  invasion  ?  We  reply  that 
the  invasion  will  never  take  place.  A  British  fleet, 
manned  by  British  sailors,  whose  courage  and  enthusiasm 
are  reflected  in  the  people  of  this  country,  is  already  on 
the  way  to  meet  the  presumptuous  foe.  The  issue  of  a 
contest  between  British  ships  and  those  of  any  other 
country,  under  anything  like  equal  odds,  can  never  be 
doubtful.  England  awaits  with  calm  confidence  the 
issue  of  the  imjjending  action. 

Such  were  the  words  of  the  leading  article,  and  so  we 
all  felt.  It  was  on  Tuesday,  the  10th  of  August,  that 
the  fleet  sailed  from  the  Downs.  It  took  with  it  a  sub- 
marine cable  to  lay  down  as  it  advanced,  so  that  con- 
tinuous communication  was  kept  up,  and  the  papers 
were  publishing  special  editions  every  few  minutes  with 
the  latest  news.  This  was  the  first  time  such  a  thing  had 
been  done,  and  the  feat  was  accepted  as  a  good  omen. 
Wiiether  it  is  true  that  the  Admiralty  made  use  of  the 
cable  to  keep  on  sending  contradictory  orders,  Avliich 
took  the  command  out  of  the  admiral's  hands,  I  can't 
say;  but  all  that  the  admiral  sent  in  return  was  a  few 
messages  of  the  briefest  kind,  which  neither  the  Admi- 
ralty nor  any  one  else  could  have  made  any  use  of. 
Such  a  ship  had  gone  off"  reconnoitring;  such  another 
had  rejoined — fleet  was  in  latitude  so  and  so.  This  went 
on  till  the  Thursday  morning.  I  had  just  come  up  to 
town  by  train  as  usual,  and  was  walking  to  my  office, 
when   the  newsboys    began   to   cry,    "New   edition — • 


14  THE    BATTLE    OF    DOKKIXC.  : 

enemy's  fleet  in  siglit ! "  You  may  imagine  the  scene  in 
London !  Business  still  weut  on  at  the  banks,  for  bills 
matured  although  the  independence  of  the  country  was 
being  fought  out  under  our  own  eyes,  so  to  say ;  and  the 
speculators  were  active  enough.  But  even  with  the 
people  who  were  making  and  losing  their  fortunes,  the 
interest  in  the  fleet  overcame  everything  else ;  men  who 
went  to  pay  in  or  draw  out  their  money  stopped  to  show 
the  last  bulletin  to  the  cashier.  As  for  the  street,  you 
could  hardly  get  along  for  the  crowd  stopping  to  buy 
and  read  the  papers ;  while  at  every  house  or  office  the 
members  sat  restlessly  in  the  common  room,  as  if  to  keep 
together  for  company,  sending  out  some  one  of  their 
number  every  few  minutes  to  get  the  latest  edition.  At 
least  this  is  what  happened  in  our  office ;  but  to  sit  still 
was  as  impossible  as  to  do  anything,  and  most  of  us  went 
out  and  wandered  about  among  the  crowd,  under  a  sort 
of  feeling  that  the  news  was  got  quicker  at  in  this  way. 
Bad  as  were  the  times  coming,  I  think  the  sickening  sus- 
pense of  that  day,  and  the  shock  which  followed,  was 
almost  the  worst  that  we  underwent.  It  was  about  ten 
o'clock  that  the  first  telegram  came;  an  hour  later  the 
wire  announced  that  the  admii'al  had  signalled  to  form  line 
of  battle,  and  shortly  afterwards  that  the  order  was  given 
to  bear  down  on  the  enemy  and  engage.  At  twelve 
came  the  announcement,  "  Fleet  opened  fire  about  three 
miles  to  leeward  of  us  " — that  is,  the  ship  with  the  cable. 
So  far  all  had  been  expectancy,  then  came  the  first  token 
of  calamity,  "  An  iron-clad  has  been  blown  up  " — ■*  the 
enemy's  torpedoes  are  doing  great  damage  " — "  the  flag- 
ship is  laid  aboard  the  enemy  " — "  the  flagship  appears 
to  be  sinking  " — "  the  vice-admiral  has  signalled  " — there 
the  cable  became  silent,  and,  as  you  know,  we  heard  no 
more  till  two  days  afterwards.  The  solitary  iron-clad 
which  escaped  the  disaster  steamed  into  Portsmouth. 


REMINISCENCES    OP   A    VOLUKTEEE.  15 

Then  the  whole  story  came  out — how  our  sailors, 
gallant  as  ever,  had  tried  to  close  with  the  enemy ;  how 
the  latter  evaded  the  conflict  at  close  quarters,  and, 
sheering  off,  left  behind  them  the  fatal  engines  which 
sent  our  ships,  one  after  the  other,  to  the  bottom ;  how 
all  this  happened  almost  in  a  few  minutes.  The  Govern- 
ment, it  appears,  had  received  warnings  of  this  invention  ; 
but  to  the  nation  this  stunning  blow  was  utterly  unex- 
pected. That  Thursday  I  had  to  go  home  early  for 
regimental  drill,  but  it  was  impossible  to  remain  doing 
nothing,  so  when  that  was  over  I  went  up  to  town  again, 
and  after  waiting  in  expectation  of  news  which  never 
came,  and  missing  the  midnight  train,  I  walked  home. 
It  was  a  hot,  sultry  night,  and  I  did  not  arrive  till  near 
sunrise.  The  whole  town  was  quite  still — the  lull  before 
the  storm ;  and  as  I  let  myself  in  with  my  latch-key,  and 
went  softly  up-stairs  to  my  room  to  avoid  waking  the 
sleeping  household,  I  could  not  but  contrast  the  peace- 
fulness  of  the  morning — no  sound  breaking  the  silence 
but  the  singing  of  the  birds  in  the  garden — with  the 
passionate  remorse  and  indignation  that  would  break 
out  with  the  day.  Perhaps  the  inmates  of  the  rooms 
were  as  wakeful  as  myself;  but  the  house  in  its  stillness 
was  just  as  it  used  to  be  when  I  came  home  alone  from 
balls  or  parties  in  the  happy  days  gone  by.  Tired 
though  I  was,  I  could  not  sleep,  so  I  went  down  to  the 
river  and  had  a  swim;  and,  on  returning,  found  the 
household  was  assembled  for  early  breakfast.  A  sorrow- 
ful household  it  was,  although  the  burden  pressing  on 
each  was  partly  an  unseen  one.  My  father,  doubting 
whether  his  firm  could  last  through  the  day ;  my  mother, 
her  distress  about  my  brother,  now  with  his  regiment  on 
the  coast,  already  exceeding  that  which  she  felt  for  the 
public  misfortune,  had  come  down,  although  hardly  fit  to 
leave  her  room.    My  sister  Clara  was  worst  of  all,  for  she 


16  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

could  not  but  try  to  disguise  her  special  interest  in  the 
fleet ;  and  though  we  had  all  guessed  that  her  heart  was 
given  to  the  young  lieutenant  in  the  flagship — the  first 
to  go  down — a  love  unclaimed  could  not  be  told,  nor 
could  we  express  the  symjjathy  we  felt  for  the  poor  girl. 
That  breakfast,  the  last  meal  we  ever  had  together,  was 
soon  ended,  and  my  father  and  I  went  up  to  town  by  an 
early  train,  and  got  there  just  as  the  fatal  announcement 
of  the  loss  of  the  fleet  was  telegraphed  from  Portsmouth. 
The  panic  and  excitement  of  that  day — how  the 
funds  went  down  to  35 ;  the  run  upon  the  bank  and  its 
stoppfige ;  the  fall  of  half  the  houses  in  the  city ;  how 
the  Government  issued  a  notification  suspending  sj^ecie 
payment  and  the  tendering  of  bills — this  last  precaution 
too  late  for  most  firms,  Carter  &  Co.  among  the  number, 
which  stopped  payment  as  soon  as  my  father  got  to  the 
ofiice;  the  call  to  arms,  and  the  unanimous  response  of 
the  country — all  this  is  history  which  I  need  not  repeat. 
You  wish  to  hear  about  my  own  share  in  the  business  at 
the  time.  Well,  volunteering  had  increased  immensely 
from  the  day  war  was  proclaimed,  and  our  regiment  went 
lip  in  a  day  or  two  from  its  usual  strength  of  600  to  near- 
ly 1000.  But  the  stock  of  rifles  was  deficient.  We  were 
promised  a  further  supply  in  a  few  days,  which,  how- 
ever, we  never  received ;  and  while  waiting  for  them  the 
regiment  had  to  be  divided  into  two  parts,  the  recruits 
drilling  with  the  rifles  in  the  morning,  and  we  old  hands 
in  the  evening.  The  failures  and  stoppage  of  work  on 
this  black  Friday  threw  an  immense  number  of  young 
men  out  of  employment,  and  we  recruited  up  to  1400 
strong  by  the  next  day ;  but  what  was  the  use  of  all  these 
men  without  arms?  On  Saturday  it  was  announced 
tliat  a  lot  of  smooth-bore  muskets  in  store  at  the  tower 
would  be  served  out  to  regiments  applying  for  them,  and 
a  regular  scramble  took  place  among  the  volunteers  for 


REMINISCENCES    OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  17 

them,  and  our  people  got  hold  of  a  couple  of  hundred. 
But  you  might  almost  as  well  have  tried  to  learn  rifle- 
drill  Mnth  a  broomstick  as  with  old  brown  bess ;  besides 
there  was  no  smooth-bore  ammunition  in  the  country.  A 
national  subscription  was  opened  for  the  manufacture  of 
rifles  at  Birmingham,  which  ran  up  to  a  couple  of  mil- 
lion in  two  days,  but,  like  every  thing  else,  this  came  too 
late.  To  return  to  the  volunteers :  camps  had  been 
formed  a  fortnight  before  at  Dover,  Brighton,  Harwich, 
and  other  places,  of  regulars  and  militia,  and  the  head- 
quarters of  most  of  the  volunteer  regiments  were  at- 
tached to  one  or  other  of  them,  and  the  volunteers  them- 
selves used  to  go  down  for  drill  from  day  to  day,  as  they 
could  spare  time,  and  on  Friday  an  order  went  out  that 
they  should  be  permanently  embodied ;  but  the  metro- 
politan volunteers  were  still  kept  about  London  as  a  sort 
of  reserve,  till  it  could  be  seen  at  what  jioint  the  inva- 
sion would  take  place.  We  .were  all  told  ofl"  to  brigades 
and  divisions.  Our  brigade  consisted  of  the  4th  Royal 
Surrey  Militia,  the  1st  Surrey  Administrative  Battalion, 
as  it  was  called,  at  Clapham,  the  7th  Surrey  Volunteers 
at  Southwark,  and  ourselves ;  but  only  our  battalion  and 
the  militia  were  quartered  in  the  same  place,  and  the 
whole  brigade  had  merely  two  or  three  afternoons  toge- 
ther at  brigade  exercise  in  Bushey  Park  before  the  march 
took  place.  Our  brigadier  belonged  to  a  line  regiment 
in  Ireland,  and  did  not  join  till  the  very  morning  the 
order  came.  Meanwhile,  during  the  preliminary  fort- 
night, the  militia  colonel  conmianded.  But  though  we 
volunteers  were  busy  with  our  drill  and  preparations, 
those  of  us,  who,  like  myself,  belonged  to  Government 
ofiices,  had  more  than  enough  of  office  work  to  do,  as 
you  may  suppose.  The  volunteer  clerks  were  allowed 
to  leave  office  at  four  o'clock,  but  the  rest  were  kept 
hard  at  the  desk  far  into  the  nioiht.     Orders  to  the  lord- 


18  THE    BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

lieutenants,  to  the  magletrates,  notifications,  all  the  ar- 
rangements for  cleaning  out  the  work-houses  for  hos- 
pitals— these  and  a  hundred  other  things  had  to  be 
managed  in  our  office,  and  there  was  as  much  bustle  in- 
doors as  out.  Fortunate  we  were  to  be  so  busy — the 
people  to  be  pitied  were  those  who  had  nothing  to  do. 
And  on  Sunday  (that  was  the  15th  August)  work  went 
on  just  as  usual.  We  had  an  early  parade  and  drill,  and 
I  went  up  to  town  by  the  nine  o'clock  train  in  my  uni- 
form, taking  my  rifle  with  me  in  case  of  accidents,  and 
luckily  too,  as  it  trurned  out,  a  Mackintosh  overcoat. 
When  I  got  to  Waterloo  there  were  all  sorts  of  rumors 
afloat,  A  fleet  had  been  seen  oft'  the  downs,  and  some 
of  the  despatch  boats  which  were  hovering  about  the 
coasts  brought  news  that  there  was  a  large  flotilla  off 
Harwich,  but  nothing  could  be  seen  from  the  shore,  as 
the  weather  was  hazy.  The  enemy's  light  ships  had 
taken  and  sunk  all  the  fishing-boats  they  could  catch,  to 
prevent  the  news  of  their  whereabouts  reaching  us,  but 
a  few  escaped  during  tlie  night,  and  reported  that  the 
Inconstant  frigate  coming  home  from  North  America, 
without  any  knowledge  of  what  had  taken  place,  had 
sailed  right  into  the  enemy's  fleet  and  been  captured. 
In  town  the  troops  were  all  getting  ready  for  a  move ; 
the  guards  in  the  Wellington  Barracks  were  under  arms, 
and  their  baggage  wagons  packed  and  drawn  up  in  the 
Bird-cage  Walk.  The  usual  guard  at  the  Horse  Guards 
had  been  withdrawn,  and  orderlies  and  statt-ofticers  were 
going  to  and  fro.  All  this  I  saw  on  the  way  to  my 
oftice,  where  I  worked  away  till  twelve  o'clock,  and  then 
feeling  hungry  after  my  early  breakfast,  I  went  across 
Parliament  Street  to  my  club  to  get  some  luncheon. 
There  were  about  half-a-dozen  men  in  the  cofi*ee-room, 
none  of  whom  I  knew ;  but  in  a  minute  or  two,  Danvers 
of  the  Treasury  entered  in  a  tremendous  hurry.     From 


REMINISCENCES    OF    A    VOLUNTEER.  19 

him  I  got  the  first  bit  of  authentic  news  I  had  had  that 
day.  The  enemy  had  landed  in  force  near  Harwich,  and 
the  metropolitan  regiments  were  ordered  down  there  to 
reinforce  the  troops  already  collected  in  that  neighbour- 
hood ;  his  regiment  was  to  parade  at  one  o'clock,  and  he 
had  come  to  get  something  to  eat  before  starting.  We 
bolted  a  hurried  lunch,  and  were  just  leaving  the  club 
when  a  messenger  from  the  Treasury  came  running  into 
the  hall. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Danvers,"  said  he,  "  I've  come  to  look  for 
you,  sir ;  the  secretary  says  that  all  the  gentlemen  are 
wanted  at  the  office,  and  that  you  must  please  not  one 
of  you  go  with  the  regiments." 

"  The  devil !  "  cried  Danvers. 

"  Do  you  know  if  that  order  extends  to  all  the  public 
offices  ?  I  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  man,  "  but  I  believe  it  do. 
I  know  there's  messengers  gone  round  to  all  the  clubs 
and  luncheon-bars  to  look  for  the  gentlemen  ;  the  secre- 
tary says  it's  quite  impossible  any  one  can  be  spared 
just  now,  there's  so  much  work  to  do;  there's  orders 
just  come  to  send  off  our  records  to  Birmingham  to- 
night." 

I  flid  not  wait  to  condole  with  Danvers;  but,  just 
glancing  up  Whitehall  to  see  if  any  of  our  messen- 
gei-s  were  in  pursuit,  I  ran  off  as  hard  as  I  could  for 
"Westminster  Bridge,  and  so  to  the  Waterloo  station. 

The  place  had  quite  changed  its  aspect  since  the 
morning.  The  regular  service  of  trains  had  ceased,  and 
the  station  and  approaches  were  full  of  troops,  among 
them  the  Guards  and  artillery.  Everything  was  very 
orderly;  the  men  had  piled  arms,  and  were  standing 
about  in  groups.  There  was  no  sign  of  high  spirits  or 
enthusiasm.  Matters  had  become  too  serious.  Every 
man's  face  reflected  the  general  feelins  that  we  had  ne- 


20  TUE    BATTLE    OF   DORKIXG : 

glected  the  warnings  given  us,  and  that  now  the  danger 
so  long  derided  as  impossible  and  absurd  had  really- 
come  and  found  us  unprepared.  But  the  soldiers,  if 
grave,  looked  determined,  like  men  who  meant  to  do 
their  duty  whatever  might  happen.  A  train  full  of 
Guardsmen  was  just  starting  for  Guildford.  I  was  told 
it  would  stop  at  Surbiton,  and,  with  several  other  volun- 
teers, hurrying  like  myself  to  join  our  regiment,  got  a 
place  in  it.  We  did  not  arrive  a  moment  too  soon,  for 
the  regiment  was  marching  from  Kingston  down  to  the 
station.  The  destination  of  our  brigade  was  the  east 
coast.  Empty  carriages  were  drawn  up  in  the  siding, 
and  our  regiment  was  to  go  first.  A  lai'ge  crowd  was 
assembled  to  see  it  ofi",  including  the  recruits  who  had 
joined  during  the  last  fortnight,  and  who  formed  by  far 
the  largest  part  of  our  strength.  They  were  to  stay  be- 
hind, and  were  certainly  very  much  in  the  way  already ; 
for  as  all  the  officers  and  sergeants  belonged  to  the  active 
part,  there  was  no  one  to  keep  discipline  among  them, 
and  they  came  crowding  around  us,  breaking  the  ranks 
and  making  it  difficult  to  get  into  the  train.  Here  I  saw 
our  new  brigadier  for  the  first  time.  He  was  a  soldier- 
like man,  and  no  doubt  knew  his  duty,  but  he  appeared 
new  to  volunteers,  and  did  not  seem  to  know  how  to 
deal  with  gentlemen  privates.  I  wanted  very  much  to 
run  home  and  get  my  greatcoat  and  knapsack,  which  I 
had  bought  a  few  days  ago,  but  feared  to  be  left  behind ; 
a  goocl-natured  recruit  volunteered  to  fetch  them  for  me, 
but  he  had  not  returned  before  we  started,  and  I  began 
the  campaign  with  a  kit  consisting  of  a  mackintosh  and 
a  small  pouch  of  tobacco. 

It  was  a  tremendous  squeeze  in  the  train ;  for,  besides 
the  ten  men  sitting  down,  there  were  three  or  four  stand- 
ing up  in  every  compartment,  and  the  afternoon  was 
close  and  sultry,  and  there  were  so  many  stojjpages  on 


EEMINISCENCES   OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  21 

the  way  that  we  took  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half  crawling 
up  to  Waterloo.  It  was  between  five  and  six  in  the 
afternoon  when  we  arrived  there,  and  it  was  nearly  seven 
before  we  marched  up  to  the  Shoreditch  station.  The 
whole  place  was  filled  up  with  stores  and  ammunition, 
to  be  sent  off  to  the  East,  so  we  piled  arms  in  the  street 
and  scattered  about  to  get  food  and  drink,  of  which 
most  of  us  stood  in  need,  especially  the  latter,  for  some 
were  already  feeling  the  worse  for  the  heat  and  crush. 
I  was  just  stepping  into  a  public-house  with  Travers, 
when  who  should  drive  up  but  his  pretty  wife !  Most 
of  our  friends  had  paid  their  adieus  at  the  Surbiton  sta- 
tion, but  she  had  di'iven  up  by  the  road  in  his  brougham, 
bringing  their  little  boy  to  have  a  last  look  at  papa. 
She  had  also  brought  his  knapsack  and  greatcoat,  and, 
what  was  still  more  acceptable,  a  basket  containing 
fowls,  tongue,  bread-and-butter,  and  biscuits,  and  a 
couple  of  bottles  of  claret — which  priceless  luxuries  they 
insisted  on  my  sharing. 

Meanwhile  the  hours  went  on.  The  4th  Surrey  Mili- 
tia, which  had  marched  all  the  way  from  Kingston,  had 
come  up,  as  well  as  the  other  volunteer  corps ;  the  sta- 
tion had  been  partly  cleared  of  the  stores  that  encum- 
bered it ;  some  artillery,  two  militia  regiments,  and  a 
battalion  of  the  line,  had  been  despatched,  and  our  turn 
to  start  had  come,  and  long  lines  of  carriages  were  drawn 
up  ready  for  us ;  but  still  we  remained  in  the  street. 
You  may  fancy  the  scene.  There  seemed  to  be  as  many 
people  as  ever  in  London,  and  we  could  hardly  move  for 
the  crowds  of  spectators — fellows  hawking  fruits  and 
volunteers'  comforts,  newsboys,  and  so  forth,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  cabs  and  omnibuses ;  while  orderlies  and  staff- 
officers  were  constantly  riding  up  with  messages.  A 
good  many  of  tlie  militiamen,  and  some  of  our  people, 
too,  had  taken  more  than  enough  to  drink ;   perhaps  a 


22  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

hot  sun  had  told  on  empty  stomachs ;  anyhow,  they  be- 
came very  noisy.  The  din,  dirt,  and  heat  were  inde- 
scribable. So  the  evening  wore  on,  and  all  the  informa- 
tion our  officers  could  get  from  the  brigadier,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  acting  under  another  general,  was,  that 
orders  had  come  to  stand  fast  for  the  present.  Gradually 
the  street  became  quieter  and  cooler.  The  brigadier, 
who,  by  way  of  setting  an  example,  had  remained  for 
some  hours  without  leaving  his  saddle,  had  got  a  chaii 
out  of  a  shop,  and  sat  nodding  in  it ;  most  of  the  men 
were  lying  down  or  sitting  on  the  pavement — some 
sleeping,  some  smoking.  In  vain  had  Travers  begged 
his  wife  to  go  home.  She  declared  that,  having  come 
so  far,  she  would  stay  and  see  the  last  of  us.  The 
brougham  had  been  sent  away  to  a  by-street,  as  it 
blocked  up  the  road ;  so  he  sat  on  a  doorstep,  she  by 
him  on  the  knapsack.  Little  Arthur,  who  had  been  de- 
lighted at  the  bustle  and  the  uniforms,  and  in  high 
spirits,  became  at  last  very  cross,  and  eventually  cried 
himself  to  sleep  in  his  father's  arms,  his  golden  hair  and 
one  little  dimpled  arm  hanging  over  his  shoulder.  Thus 
went  on  the  weary  hours,  till  suddenly  the  assembly 
sounded,  and  we  all  started  up.  We  were  to  return  to 
Waterloo.  The  landing  on  the  east  was  only  a  feint — 
so  ran  the  rumor — the  real  attack  was  on  the  south. 
Anything  seemed  better  than  indecision  and  delay,  and, 
tired  though  we  wei-e,  the  march  back  was  gladly  hailed. 
Mrs.  Travers,  who  made  us  take  the  remains  of  the 
luncheon  with  us,  we  left  to  look  for  her  carriage;  little 
Arthur,  who  was  awake  again,  but  very  good  and  quiet, 
in  her  arms. 

We  did  not  reach  Waterloo  till  nearly  midnight,  and 
there  was  some  delay  in  starting  again.  Several  volun- 
teer and  militia  regiments  had  arrived  from  the  north ; 
the  station  and  all  its  approaches  were  jammed  up  with 


REMINISCENCES    OF    A    YOLUNTEEir.  23 

men,  and  trains  were  being  despatched  away  as  fast  as 
they  could  be  made  up.  All  this  time  no  news  had 
reached  us  since  the  first  announcement ;  but  the  excite- 
ment then  aroused  had  now  passed  away  under  the  in- 
fluence of  fatigue  and  want  of  sleep,  and  most  of  us 
dozed  off  as  soon  as  we  got  under  way.  I  did,  at  anv 
rate,  and  was  awoke  by  the  train  stopping  at  Leather- 
head.  There  was  an  up-train  returning  to  town,  and 
some  persons  in  it  were  bringing  up  news  from  the  coast. 
We  could  not,  from  our  part  of  the  train,  hear  what  they 
said,  but  the  rumor  was  passed  up  from  one  carriage  to 
another.  The  enemy  had  landed  in  force  at  Worthing. 
Their  position  had  been  attacked  by  the  troops  from  the 
camp  near  Brighton,  and  the  action  would  be  renewed 
in  the  morning.  The  volunteers  had  behaved  very  well. 
This  was  all  the  information  we  could  get.  So,  then,  the 
invasion  had  come  at  last.  It  was  clear,  at  any  rate, 
from  what  was  said,  that  the  enemy  had  not  been  driven 
back  yet,  and  Ave  should  be  in  time  most  likely  to  take  a 
share  in  the  defence. 

It  was  sunrise  when  the  train  crawled  into  Dorking, 
for  there  had  been  numerous  stoppages  on  the  way;  and 
here  it  Avas  pulled  up  for  a  long  time,  and  we  were  told 
to  get  out  and  stretch  ourselves — an  order  gladly  res- 
ponded to,  for  we  had  been  very  closely  packed  all 
night.  Most  of  us,  too,  took  the  opportunity  to  make  an 
early  breakfai<t  off  the  food  we  had  brought  from  Shore- 
ditch.  I  had  the  remains  of  Mrs.  Travers'  fowl  and 
some  bread  wrapped  up  in  my  waterproof,  which  I  shared 
with  one  or  two  less  provident  comrades.  We  could  see 
from  our  halting  place  that  the  line  Avas  blocked  Avith 
trains  beyond  and  behind.  It  must  have  been  about 
eight  o'clock  when  we  got  orders  to  take  our  seats  again, 
and  the  train  began  to  move  sloAvly  on  toAvards  Horsham. 
Horsham  Junction  was  the   point   to    be   occupied — so 


24  THE    BATTLE    OF   DOUKING : 

the  rumor  went;  but  about  ten  o'clock,  when  halting 
at  a  small  station  a  few  miles  short  of  it,  the  order  came 
to  leave  the  train,  and  our  brigade  formed  in  column  on 
the  highroad.  Beyond  us  was  some  field-artillery  ;  and 
further  on,  so  we  were  told  by  a  staff-officer,  another 
brigade,  which  was  to  make  up  a  division  with  ours. 
After  more  delays  the  line  began  to  move,  but  not  for- 
wards ;  our  route  was  towards  the  north-west,  and  a  sort 
of  suspicion  of  the  state  of  affairs  flashed  across  my 
mind.  Horsham  was  already  occupied  by  the  enemy's 
advance-guard,  and  we  were  to  fall  back  on  Leith  Com- 
mon, and  take  up  a  position  threatening  his  flank,  should 
he  advance  either  to  Guildford  or  Dorking.  This  was 
soon  confirmed  by  what  the  colonel  was  told  by  the 
brigadier  and  passed  down  the  ranks;  and  just  now  for 
the  first  time,  the  boom  of  artillery  came  up  on  the  light 
south  breeze.  In  about  an  hour  the  firing  ceased. 
What  did  it  mean  ?  We  could  not  tell.  Meanwhile 
our  march  continued.  The  day  Avas  very  close  and  sul- 
try, and  the  clouds  of  dust  stirred  up  by  our  feet  almost 
suffocated  us.  I  had  saved  a  soda-water  bottleful  of 
yesterday's  claret ;  but  this  went  only  a  short  way,  for 
there  were  many  mouths  to  share  it  with,  and  tlie  thirs! 
soon  became  as  bad  as  ever.  Several  of  the  regiment 
fell  out  from  faintncss,  and  we  made  frequent  halts  to 
rest  and  let  the  stragglers  come  up.  At  last  Ave  reached 
the  top  of  Leith  Hill.  It  is  a  striking  spot,  being  the 
highest  spot  in  the  south  of  England.  The  view  from  it 
is  splendid,  and  most  lovely  did  the  country  look  this 
summer  day,  although  the  grass  was  brown  from  the 
long  drought.  It  Avas  a  great  relief  to  get  from  the 
dusty  road  on  to  the  common,  and  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
there  Avas  a  refreshing  breeze.  We  could  see  noAv  for 
the  first  time,  the  whole  of  our  division.  Our  own  regi- 
ment did  not  muster  more  than  600,  for  it  contained  a 


EEMnaSCEXCES   OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  25 

large  number  of  Government  office  men  who  had  been 
detained,  like  Danvers,  for  duty   in  town,  and  others 
were  not  much  larger ;  but  the  militia  regiment  was  very- 
strong,  and   the   whole  division,  I   was   told  mustered 
nearly  5000  rank  and  file.     We  could  see  other  troops 
also   in   extension  of  our  division,  and  could   count  a 
couple  of  field-batteries  of  Royal  Artillery,  besides  some 
heavy   guns   belonging    to   the   volunteers,    apparantly 
drawn  by  cart  horses.     The  cooler  air,  the  sense  of  num- 
bers, and  the  evident  strength  of  the  position  we  held, 
raised  our  spirits,  which,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  say,  had 
all  the   morning  been  depressed.     It  was  not  that  we 
were  not  eager  to  close  with  the  enemy,  but  that  the 
counter-marching   and   halting  ominously   betokened  a 
vacillation  of  purpose  in  those  who  had  the  guidance  of 
affairs.     Here  in  two  days  the  invaders  had  got  more 
than  twenty  miles  inland,  and  nothing  effectual  had  been 
done  to  stop   them.     And  the  ignorance   in  which  we 
Yolunteers,  from  the  colonel  downwards,  were  kept  of 
then-  movements,  filled  us  with  uneasiness.     We  coidd 
not   but    depict   to   ourselves    the   enemy   as    carrying 
out   all   the    while   firmly    his    well-considered   scheme 
of  attack,  and  contrasting  it  with   our  own  uncertainty 
of  purpose.     The  very  silence  with  Avhich  his  advance 
appeared  to  be  conducted  filled  us  with  mysterious  awe. 
Meanwhile  the  day  Avore  on,  and  we  became  faint  with 
hunger,  for  we  had  eaten  nothing  since  daj^break,     Xo 
provisions  came  up,  and   there  were   no  signs  of  any 
commissariat  officers.     It  seems  that  wlien  we  were  at 
the  Waterloo  station  a  whole  trainful  of  provisions  was 
drawn  up  there,  and  our  colonel  proposed  that  one  of 
the  trucks  should  be  taken  off  and  attached  to  our  trains, 
so    that  we  might  have  some   food   at   hand;  but  the 
oflicer  in  charge,  an  assistant-controller,  I  think  they  call 
him — this  control  department  was  a  newfangled  affiiir 
3 


26  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

which  did  us  almost  as  much  harm  as  the  enemy  in  the 
long  run — said  his  orders  were  to  keep  all  the  stores  to- 
gether, and  that  he  couldn't  issue  any  without  authority 
from  the  head  of  his  department.  So  we  had  to  go 
without.  Those  who  had  tobacco  smoked — indeed  there 
is  no  solace  like  a  pipe  under  such  circumstances.  The 
militia  regiment,  I  heard  afterwards,  had  two  days'  pro- 
visions in  their  haversacks;  it  was  we  volunteers  who 
had  no  haversacks,  and  nothing  to  put  in  them.  All 
this  time,  I  should  tell  you,  while  we  were  lying  on  the 
grass  with  our  arms  piled,  the  General,  with  the  briga- 
diers and  staff,  was  riding  about  slowly  from  point  to 
point  of  the  edge  of  the  common,  looking  out  with  his 
glass  towards  the  south  valley.  Orderlies  and  staff- 
officers  were  constantly  coming,  and  about  three  o'clock 
there  arrived  up  a  road  that  led  towards  Horsham  a 
small  body  of  lancers  and  a  regiment  of  yeomanry,  who 
had,  it  appears  been  out  in  advance,  and  now  drew  up  a 
short  way  in  front  of  us  in  column  facing  to  the  south. 
Whether  they  could  see  anything  in  their  front  I  could 
not  tell,  for  we  were  behind  the  crest  of  the  hill  our- 
selves, and  so  could  not  look  into  the  valley  below ;  but 
shortly  afterwards  the  assembly  sounded.  Commanding 
officers  were  called  out  by  the  General,  and  received 
some  brief  instructions ;  and  the  column  began  to  march 
again  towards  London,  the  militia  this  time  coming  last 
in  our  brigade.  A  rumor  regarding  the  object  of  this 
counter-march  soon  spread  through  the  ranks.  The 
enemy  was  not  going  to  attack  us  here,  but  was  trying 
to  turn  the  position  on  both  sides,  one  column  pointing 
to  Ileigate,  the  other  to  Aldershot ;  and  so  we  must  fall 
back  and  take  up  a  position  at  Dorking.  The  line  of 
the  great  chalk-range  was  to  be  defended.  A  large  force 
was  concentrating  at  Guildford,  auother  at  Reigate,  and 
we  should  find  supports  at  Dorking.     The  enemy  would 


EEMI:^^scE^^cEs  of  a  volunteer.  27 

be  awaited  in  these  positions.  Such,  80  far  as  we  priv- 
ates could  get  at  the  facts,  was  to  be  the  plan  of  opera- 
tions. Down  the  hill,  therefore,  we  marclied.  From 
one  or  two  points  we  could  catch  a  brief  sight  of  the 
railway  in  the  valley  below  running  from  Dorking  to 
Horsham.  Men  in  red  were  working  upon  it  here  and 
there.  They  were  the  Royal  Engineers,  some  one  said, 
breaking  up  the  line.  On  we  marched.  The  dust  seemed 
worse  than  ever. 

In  one  village  through  which  we  passed — I  forget  the 
name  now — there  was  a  pump  on  the  green.  Here  we 
stopped  and  had  a  good  drink ;  and  passing  by  a  large 
farm,  the  farmer's  wife  and  two  or  three  of  her  maids 
stood  at  the  gate  and  handed  us  hunches  of  bread  and 
cheese  out  of  some  baskets.  I  got  the  share  of  a  bit,  but 
the  bottom  of  the  baskets  must  soon  have  been  reached. 
Not  a  thing  else  was  to  be  had  till  we  got  to  Dorking 
about  six  o'clock ;  indeed,  most  of  the  farmhouses  ap- 
peared deserted  already.  On  arriving  there,  we  were 
drawn  up  in  the  street,  and  just  opposite  was  a  baker's 
shop.  Our  fellows  asked  leave,  at  first  by  twos  and 
threes,  to  go  in  and  buy  some  loaves,  but  soon  others 
began  to  break  oiF  and  crowd  into  the  shop,  and  at  last 
a  regular  scramble  took  place.  If  there  had  been  any 
order  preserved,  and  a  regular  distribution  arranged, 
they  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  steady  enough,  but 
hunger  makes  men  selfish :  each  man  felt  that  his  stop- 
ping behind  would  do  no  good — he  would  simply  lose 
his  share ;  so  it  ended  by  almost  the  whole  regiment 
joining  in  the  scrimmage,  and  the  shop  was  cleared  out 
in  a  couple  of  minutes ;  while  as  for  paying,  you  could 
not  get  your  hand  into  your  pocket  for  the  crush.  The 
colonel  tried  in  vain  to  stop  the  row;  some  of  the  officers 
were  as  bad  as  the  men.  Just  then  a  stafi*  officer  rode 
by ;  he  could  scarcely  make  way  for  the  crowd,  and  was 


28  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING  I 

pushed  against  rather  rudely,  and  in  a  passion  he  callea 
out  to  us  to  behave  properly,  like  soldiers,  and  not  like  a 
parcel  of  roughs.  "  Oh,  blow  it,  governor,"  says  Dick 
Wake,  "  you  arn't  agoing  to  come  between  a  poor  cove 
and  his  grub."  Wake  was  an  articled  attorney,  and,  as 
we  used  to  say  in  those  days,  a  cheeky  young  chap, 
although  a  good-natured  fellow  enough.  At  this  speech, 
which  was  followed  by  some  more  remarks  of  the 
sort  from  those  about  him,  the  staff  officer  became 
angrier  still.  "  Orderly,"  cried  he  to  the  lancer  riding 
behind  him,  "  take  that  man  to  the  provost-marshal. 
As  for  you,  sir,"  he  said,  turning  to  our  colonel,  who  sat 
on  his  horse,  silent  with  astonishment,  "  if  you  don't  want 
some  of  your  men  shot  before  their  time,  you  and  your 
j^recious  officers  had  better  keep  this  rabble  in  a  little 
better  order:"  and  poor  Dick,  who  looked  crest-fallen 
enough,  would  certainly  have  been  led  off  at  the  tail  of 
the  sergeant's  horse,  if  the  brigadier  had  not  come  up 
and  arranged  matters,  and  marched  us  off  to  the  hill 
beyond  the  town.  This  incident  made  us  both  angry 
and  crest-fallen.  We  were  annoyed  at  being  so  roughly 
spoken  to :  at  the  same  time,  we  felt  we  had  deserved  it, 
and  Avere  ashamed  of  the  misconduct.  Then,  too,  we 
had  lost  confidence  in  our  colonel,  after  the  poor  figure 
he  cut  in  the  affiiir.  He  was  a  good  fellow,  the  colonel, 
and  showed  himself  a  brave  one  next  day  ;  but  he  aimed 
too  much  at  being  popular,  and  didn't  understand  a  bit 
how  to  command. 

To  resume : — We  had  scarcely  reached  the  hill  above 
the  town,  which  we  Avere  told  was  to  be  our  bivouac  for 
the  night,  when  the  welcome  news  came  that  a  food-train 
had  arrived  at  the  station ;  but  there  were  no  carts  to 
bring  the  things  up,  so  a  fatigue-party  went  down  and 
carried  back  a  supply  to  us  in  their  arms — loaves,  a  bar- 
rel of  rum,  packets  of  tea,  and  joints  of  meat — abundance 


REMIJTISCEXCES   OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  29 

for  all ;  but  there  was  not  a  kettle  or  a  cooking-pot  in 
the  regiment,  and  we  could  not  eat  the  meat  raw.  The 
colonel  and  officers  were  no  better  off.  They  had  ar- 
ranged to  have  a  regular  mess,  with  crockery,  steward, 
and  all  complete,  but  the  establishment  never  turned  up, 
and  what  had  become  of  it  no  one  knew.  Some  of  us 
were  sent  back  into  the  town  to  see  what  we  could  pro- 
cure in  the  way  of  cooking  utensils.  We  found  the 
street  full  of  artillery,  baggage-wagons,  and  mounted 
officers,  and  yolunteers  shopping  like  ourselves ;  and  all 
the  houses  appeared  to  be  occupied  by  troops.  We  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  few  kettles  and  saucepans,  and  I 
obtained  for  myself  a  leather  bag,  with  a  strap  to  go 
over  the  shoulder,  which  proved  very  handy  afterwards ; 
and  thus  laden,  we  trudged  back  to  our  camp  on  the 
hill,  filling  the  kettles  with  diity  water  from  a  little 
stream  which  runs  between  the  hill  and  the  town,  for 
there  was  none  to  be  had  above.  It  was  nearly  a  couple 
of  miles  each  way ;  and,  exhausted  as  we  were  with  march- 
ing and  want  of  rest,  we  were  almost  too  tired  to  eat. 
The  cooking  was  of  the  roughest,  as  you  may  suppose ; 
all  we  could  do  was  to  cut  off  slices  of  the  meat  and  boil 
them  in  the  saucepans,  using  our  fingers  for  forks.  The 
tea,  however,  was  very  refreshing ;  and,  thirsty  as  we 
were,  we  drank  it  by  the  gallon.  Just  before  it  grew 
dark,  the  brigade-major  came  round,  and,  with  the 
adjutant,  showed  our  colonel  how  to  set  a  picket  in  ad- 
vance of  our  line,  a  little  way  down  the  face  of  the  hill. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  place  one,  I  suppose,  because  the 
town  in  our  front  was  still  occupied  with  troops ;  but,  no 
doubt,  the  practice  would  be  useful.  We  had  also  a 
quarter-guard,  and  a  line  of  sentries  in  front  and  rear  of 
our  line,  communicating  with  those  of  the  regiments  on 
our  fianks.  Firewood  was  plentiful,  for  the  hill  was 
covered  with  beautiful  wood ;  but  it  took  some  time  to 


30  THE   BATTLE    OF   DOEKIXG  : 

collect  it,  for  we  had  nothing  but  our  pocket-knives  to 
cut  down  the  branches  with. 

So  we  lay  down  to  sleep.  My  company  had  no  duty, 
and  we  had  the  night  undisturbed  to  ourselves;  but, 
tired  though  I  was,  the  excitement  and  the  novelty  of 
the  situation  made  sleep  difficult.  And  although  the 
night  was  still  and  warm,  and  we  were  sheltered  by  the 
woods,  I  soon  found  it  chilly  with  no  better  covering 
than  my  thin  dust-coat,  the  more  so  as  my  clothes, 
saturated  with  persj)iration  during  the  day,  had  never 
dried ;  and  before  daylight,  I  woke  from  a  short  nap, 
shivering  with  cold,  and  was  glad  to  get  warm  Avith 
others  by  a  fire.  I  then  noticed  that  the  opjjosite  hills 
on  the  south  were  dotted  with  fires ;  and  we  thought  at 
first  they  must  belong  to  the  enemy,  but  we  were  told 
that  the  ground  up  there  was  still  held  by  a  strong  rear- 
guard of  regulars,  and  that  there  need  be  no  fear  of  a 
surprise. 

At  the  first  sign  of  dawn,  the  bugles  of  the  regiments 
sounded  the  reveille^  and  we  were  ordered  to  fall  in,  and 
the  roll  was  called.  About  twenty  men  were  absent, 
who  had  fallen  out  sick  the  day  before;  they  had  been 
sent  up  to  London  by  train  during  the  night,  I  believe. 
After  standing  in  column  for  about  half  an  hour,  the 
brigade-major  came  down  with  orders  to  pile  arms  and 
stand  easy;  and  perliaps  half  an  hour  afterwards  we 
were  told  to  get  breakfast  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  to 
cook  a  day's  food  at  the  same  time.  This  operation  was 
managed  pretty  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  evening 
before,  except  that  we  had  our  cooking-pots  and  kettles 
ready. 

Meantime,  there  was  leisure  to  look  around,  and  from 
where  we  stood  there  was  a  commanding  view  of  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  scenes  in  England.  Our  regiment 
was  drawn  up  on  the  extremity  of  the  ridge  which  runs 


REMINISCENCES    OF   A  VOLUNTEER.  31 

from  Guildford  to  Dorking.  This  is  indeed  merely  a 
part  of  the  great  chalk-range  which  extends  from  beyond 
Aldershot  east  to  the  Medway  ;  but  there  is  a  gap  in  the 
ridge  just  here,  where  the  little  stream  that  runs  past 
Dorking  turns  suddenly  to  the  north,  to  find  its  way  to 
the  Thames.  We  stood  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  as  it 
trends  down  eastward  toward  this  gap,  and  had  passed 
our  bivouac  in  what  appeared  to  be  a  gentleman's  park. 
A  little  way  above  us,  and  to  our  right,  was  a  very  fine 
country  seat  to  which  the  park  was  attached,  now  occu- 
pied by  the  headquarters  of  our  division.  From  this 
house  the  hill  sloped  steeply  down  southward  to  the  val- 
ley below,  which  runs  nearly  east  and  west  parallel  to 
the  ridge,  and  carries  the  railway  and  the  road  from 
Guildford  to  Reigate,  and  in  which  valley,  immediately 
in  front  of  the  chateau,  and  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half 
distant  from  it,  Avas  the  little  town  of  Dorking,  nestled 
in  the  trees,  and  rising  up  the  foot  of  the  slopes  on  the 
other  side  of  the  valley,  which  stretched  away  to  Leith 
Common,  the  scene  of  yesterday's  march.  Thus  the  main 
part  of  the  town  of  Dorking  was  on  our  right  front,  but 
the  suburbs  stretched  away  eastward  nearly  to  our  pro- 
per front,  culminating  in  a  small  railway  station,  from 
which  the  grassy  slopes  of  the  park  rose  up  dotted  with 
shrubs  and  trees  to  where  we  were  standing.  Round 
this  railway  station  was  a  cluster  of  villas  and  one  or 
two  mills,  of  whose  gardens  we  thus  had  a  bird's-eye 
view,  their  little  ornamental  ponds  glistening  like  look- 
ing-glasses in  the  morning  sun.  Immediately  on  our  left 
the  park  sloped  steeply  down  to  the  gap  before  men- 
tioned, through  which  ran  the  little  stream,  as  well  as 
the  railway  from  Epsom  to  Brighton,  nearly  due  north 
and  south,  meeting  the  Guildford  and  Reigate  line  at 
right  angles.  Close  to  the  point  of  intersection  and  the 
little  station  already  mentioned,  was  the  station  of  the 


S2  THE   BATTLE    OF   DOKKING: 

former  line  where  we  had  stopped  the  day  before.  Be- 
yond the  gap  on  the  east  (our  left),  and  in  continuation 
of  our  ridge,  rose  the  chalk-hill  again.  The  shoulder  of 
this  ridge  overlooking  the  gap  is  called  Box  Hill,  from 
the  shrubbery  of  box-wood  with  which  it  was  covered. 
Its  sides  were  very  steep,  and  the  top  of  the  ridge  was 
covered  with  troops.  The  natural  strength  of  our  posi- 
tion was  manifest  at  a  glance  ;  a  high  grassy  ridge, 
Btcep  to  the  south,  with  a  stream  in  front,  and  but  little 
cover  up  the  sides.  It  seemed  made  for  a  battle-field. 
The  weak  point  was  the  gap ;  the  ground  at  the  junction 
of  the  railways  and  the  roads  immediately  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  gap  formed  a  little  valley,  dotted,  as  I  have 
said,  with  buildings  and  gardens.  This,  in  one  sense, 
was  the  key  of  the  position ;  for  although  it  would  not 
be  tenable  while  we  held  the  ridge  commanding  it,  the 
enemy,  by  carrying  this  point  and  advancing  through  the 
gap,  would  cut  our  line  in  two.  But  you  must  not  sup- 
pose I  scanned  the  ground  thus  criticall)^  at  the  time. 
Anybody,  indeed,  might  have  been  struck  with  the  natu- 
ral advantages  of  our  position  ;  but  what,  as  I  remember, 
most  impressed  me,  was  the  peaceful  beauty  of  the  scene 
— the  little  town,  with  the  outline  of  the  houses  obscu- 
red by  a  blue  mist ;  the  massive  crispness  of  the  foliage, 
the  outlines  of  the  great  trees,  lighted  up  by  the  sun,  and 
relieved  by  a  deep  blue  shade.  So  thick  was  the  timber 
here,  rising  up  the  southern  slopes  of  the  valley,  that  it 
looked  almost  as  if  it  might  have  been  a  primeval  forest. 
The  quiet  of  the  scene  was  the  more  impressive  because 
contrasted  in  the  mind  with  the  scenes  we  expected  to 
follow  ;  and  I  can  remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  the 
sensation  of  bitter  regret  that  it  should  now  be  too  late  to 
avert  this  coming  desecration  of  our  country,  which 
might  so  easily  have  been  prevented.  A  little  firmness, 
a  little  prevision  on  the  part  of  our  rulers,  even  a  little 


EEMi:»aSCEXCES    OF    A    VOLUXTEER.  33 

common-sense,  and  this  great  calamity  would  have  been 
rendered  utterly  impossible.  Too  late,  alas !  We  were 
like  the  foolish  virgins  in  the  parable. 

But  you  must  not  sujjjjose  the  scene  immediately 
around  was  gloomy :  the  camp  was  brisk  and  bustling 
enough.  We  had  got  over  the  stress  of  weariness  ;  our 
stomachs  were  full ;  ^e  felt  a  natural  enthusiasm  at  the 
prospect  of  having  so  soon  to  take  a  part  as  the  real  de- 
fenders of  the  country,  and  we  were  inspirited  at  the 
sight  of  the  large  force  that  was  now  assembled.  Along 
the  slope  which  trended  off  to  the  rear  of  our  ridge, 
troops  came  marching  up — volunteers,  militia,  cavalry, 
and  guns;  these, I  heard,  had  come  down  from  the  north 
as  far  as  Leatherhead  the  night  before,  and  had  marched 
over  at  daybreak.  Long  trains,  too,  began  to  arrive  by 
the  rail  through  the  gap,  one  after  the  other,  containing 
militia  and  volunteers,  who  moved  up  to  the  ridge  to  the 
right  and  left,  and  took  up  their  position,  massed  for  the 
most  part  on  the  slopes  which  ran  up  from,  and  in  rear 
of,  where  we  stood.  We  now  formed  part  of  an  army 
corps,  we  were  told,  consisting  of  three  divisions,  but 
what  regiments  composed  the  other  two  divisions,  I 
never  heard.  All  this  movement  we  could  distinctly  see 
from  our  position,  for  we  had  hurried  over  our  breakfast 
expecting  every  minute  that  the  battle  would  begin,  and 
now  stood  or  sat  about  on  the  ground  near  our  piled 
arms.  Early  in  the  morning,  too,  we  saw  a  very  long 
train  come  along  the  valley  from  the  direction  of  Guild- 
ford, full  of  redcoats.  It  halted  at  the  little  station  at 
our  feet,  and  the  troops  alighted.  We  could  soon  make 
out  their  bear-skins.  They  were  the  Guards,  coming  to 
reinforce  this  part  of  the  line.  Leaving  a  detachment  of 
skirmishers  to  hold  the  line  of  the  railway  embankment, 
the  main  body  marched  up  with  a  springy  step  and  with 
the  baud  playing,  and  drew  up  across  the  gap  on  our 
*2 


34  THE    BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

left,  in  prolongation  of  our  line.  There  appeared  to  be 
three  battalions  of  them,  for  they  formed  up  in  that  num- 
ber of  columns  at  short  intervals. 

Shortly  after  this,  I  was  sent  over  to  Box  Hill  with  a 
message  from  our  colonel  to  the  colonel  of  a  volunteer 
regiment  stationed  there,  to  know  whether  an  ambulance- 
cart  was  obtainable,  as  it  was  reported  this  regiment  was 
well  supplied  with  carriage,  whereas  we  were  without 
any :  my  mission,  however,  was  futile.  Crossing  the 
valley,  I  found  a  scene  of  great  confusion  at  the  railway 
station.  Trains  were  still  coming  in  with  stores,  ammu- 
nition, guns,  and  appliances  of  all  sorts,  which  were 
being  unloaded  as  fast  as  possible  ;  but  there  were 
scarcely  any  means  of  getting  the  things  off.  There 
were  plenty  of  wagons  of  all  sorts,  but  hardly  any 
horses  to  draw  them,  and  the  whole  place  was  blocked 
up  ;  while,  to  add  to  the  confusion,  a  regular  exodus  had 
taken  place  of  the  people  from  the  town,  who  had  been 
warned  that  it  was  likely  to  be  the  scene  of  fighting. 
Ladies  and  women  of  all  sorts  and  ages,  and  children, 
some  with  bundles,  some  empty-handed,  Avere  seeking 
places  in  the  train,  but  there  appeared  no  one  on  the  spot 
authorised  to  grant  them ;  and  these  poor  creatures  were 
pushing  their  way  up  and  down,  vainly  asking  for  infor- 
mation and  permission  to  get  away. 

In  the  crowd  I  observed  our  surgeon,  who  likewise 
was  in  search  of  an  ambulance  of  some  sort :  his  whole 
professional  apparatus,  he  said,  consisted  of  a  case  of  in- 
struments. Also  in  the  crowd  I  stumbled  u])on  Wood, 
Travers's  old  coachman.  He  had  been  sent  down  by  his 
mistress  to  Guildford,  because  it  was  supposed  our  regi- 
ment had  gone  there,  riding  the  hoi-se,  and  laden  with  a 
supply  of  things — food,  blankets,  and  of  course,  a  letter. 
He  had  also  brought  my  knapsack ;  but  at  Guildford  the 
horse  was  pi-essed  for  artillery  Mork,  and  a  receipt  for  it 


REMINISCENCES    OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  35 

given  him  in  exchange,  so  he  had  been  obliged  to  leave 
all  the  heavy  packages  there,  including  my  knapsack; 
but  the  faithful  old  man  had  brought  on  as  many  things 
as  he  could  carry,  and  hearing  that  we  should  be  found 
in  this  part,  had  walked  over  thus  laden  from  Guildford. 
He  said  that  place  was  crowded  with  troops,  and  that 
the  heights  were  lined  with  them  the  whole  way  between 
the  two  towns;  also,  that  some  trains  with  wounded  had 
passed  up  from  the  coast  in  the  night,  through  Guildford. 
I  led  him  off  to  where  our  regiment  was,  relieving  the 
old  man  from  part  of  the  load  he  was  staggering  under. 
The  food  sent  was  not  now  so  much  needed,  but  the 
plates,  knives,  tfec,  and  drinking  vessels,  promised  to  be 
handy — and  Travers,  you  may  be  sure,  was  delighted  to 
get  his  letter ;  while  a  couple  of  newspapers  the  old  man 
had  brought  were  eagerly  competed  for  by  all,  even  at 
this  critical  moment,  for  we  had  heard  no  authentic  news 
since  we  left  London  on  Sunday.  And  even  at  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  although  I  only  glanced  down  the  paper, 
I  can  remember  almost  the  very  words  I  read  there. 
They  were  both  copies  of  the  same  paper — the  first,  pub- 
lished on  Sunday  evening,  when  the  news  had  arrived  of 
the  successful  landing  at  three  points,  was  written  in  a 
tone  of  despair.  The  country  must  confess  that  it  had 
been  taken  by  surprise.  The  conqueror  would  be  satis- 
fied with  the  humiliation  inflicted  by  a  peace  dictated  on 
our  own  shores  ;  it  was  the  clear  duty  of  the  Government 
to  accept  the  best  terms  obtainable,  and  to  avoid  further 
bloodshed  and  disaster,  and  avert  the  fall  of  our  totter- 
ing mercantile  credit.  The  next  morning's  issue  was  in 
quite  a  different  tone.  Apparently  the  enemy  had  re- 
ceived a  check,  for  we  were  here  exhorted  to  resistance. 
An  impregnable  position  was  to  be  taken  up  along  the 
Downs,  a  force  was  concentrating  there  far  outnumber- 
ing the  rash  invaders,  who,  with  an  invincible  line  before 


36  THE   BAITTLE    OF   DORKING*. 

them,  and  the  sea  behind,  liad  no  choice  between  destruc- 
tion or  surrendei-.  Let  there  be  no  pusillanimous  talk  of 
negotiation,  the  fight  must  be  fought  out ;  and  there 
could  be  but  one  issue.  England,  expectant  but  calm, 
awaited  with  confidence  the  result  of  the  attack  on  its 
unconquerable  volunteers.  The  writing  appeared  to  me 
eloquent,  but  rather  inconsistent.  The  same  paper  said 
the  Government  had  sent  off  500  workmen  from  Wool- 
wich, to  open  a  branch  arsenal  at  Birmingham. 

All  this  time  we  had  nothing  to  do,  except  to  change 
our  position,  which  we  did  every  few  minutes,  now  mov- 
ing up  the  hill  farther  to  our  right,  now  taking  ground 
lower  down  to  our  left,  as  one  order  after  another  was 
brought  down  the  line ;  but  the  staff-oflScers  were  gallop- 
ing about  perpetually  with  orders,  while  the  rumble  of  the 
artillery  as  they  moved  about  from  one  part  of  the  field 
to  another  went  on  almost  incessantly.  At  last  the  whole 
line  stood  to  arms,  the  bands  struck  up,  and  the  general 
commanding  our  army  corps  came  riding  down  with  his 
staff.  We  had  seen  him  several  times  before,  as  we  had 
been  moving  frequently  about  the  position  during  the 
morning ;  but  he  now  made  a  sort  of  formal  inspection. 
He  was  a  tall,  thin  man,  with  long,  light  hair,  very  well 
mounted,  and  as  be  sat  on  his  horse  with  an  erect  seat, 
and  came  prancing  down  the  line,  at  a  little  distance  he 
looked  as  if  he  might  be  five-and-twenty ;  but  I  believe 
he  had  served  more  than  fifty  years,  and  had  been  made 
a  peer  for  services  performed  when  quite  an  old  man.  I 
remember  that  he  had  more  decorations  than  there  was 
room  for  on  the  breast  of  his  coat,  and  wore  them  sus- 
pended like  a  necklace  round  his  neck.  Like  all  the 
other  generals,  he  was  dressed  in  blue,  with  a  cocked-hat 
and  feathers — a  bad  plan,  I  thought,  for  it  made  them 
very  conspicuous.  The  general  halted  before  our  bat- 
talion, and  after  looking  at  us  a  while,  made  a  short 


EEMIXISOE^CES    OF   A   VOLTTXTEER.  37 

address :  We  had  a  post  of  honor  next  her  Majesty's 
Guards,  and  would  show  ourselves  worthy  of  it,  and  of 
the  name  of  Euglislimen.  It  did  not  need,  he  said,  to  be 
a  general  to  see  the  strength  of  our  position ;  it  was  im- 
pregnable, if  properly  held.  Let  us  wait  till  the  enemy 
was  well  pounded,  and  then  the  word  would  be  given  to 
go  at  him.  Above  everything,  we  must  be  steady.  He 
then  shook  hands  with  our  colonel,  we  gave  him  a  cheer, 
and  he  rode  on  to  where  the  Guards  were  drawn  up. 

Now  then,  we  thought,  the  battle  will  begin.  But 
still  there  were  no  signs  of  the  enemy;  and  the  air, 
though  hot  and  sultry,  began  to  be  very  hazy,  so  that 
yo\i  could  scarcely  see  the  town  below,  and  the  hills  op- 
posite were  merely  a  confused  blur,  to  which  no  features 
could  be  distinctly  made  out.  After  a  while,  the  tension 
of  feeling  which  followed  the  general's  address  relaxed, 
and  we  began  to  feel  less  as  if  everything  depended  on 
keeping  our  rifles  firmly  grasped :  we  were  told  to  pile 
arms  again,  and  got  leave  to  go  down  by  tens  and 
twenties  to  the  stream  below  to  drink.  This  stream, 
and  all  the  hedges  and  banks  on  our  side  of  it,  were  held 
by  our  skirmishers,  but  the  town  had  been  abandoned. 
The  position  appeared  an  excellent  one,  except  that  the 
enemy,  when  they  came,  would  have  almost  better  cover 
than  our  men.  While  I  was  down  at  the  brook,  a 
column  emerged  from  the  town,  making  for  our  position. 
We  thought  for  a  moment  it  was  the  enemy,  and  you 
could  not  make  out  the  color  of  the  uniforms  for  the 
dust ;  but  it  turned  out  to  be  our  rear-guard,  falling  back 
from  the  opposite  hills  which  they  had  occupied  the 
previous  night.  One  battalion  of  rifles  halted  for  a  few 
minutes  at  the  stream  to  let  the  men  drink,  and  I  had  a 
minute's  talk  with  a  couple  of  the  oflicers.  They  had 
formed  part  of  the  force  which  had  attacked  the  enemy 
on  then-  first  lauding.     They  had  it  all  their  own  way, 


38  THE   BATTLE    OP   DORKING : 

they  said,  at  first,  and  could  have  beaten  the  enemy  back 
easily  if  they  had  been  properly  supported ;  but  the 
whole  thing  was  mismanaged.  The  volunteers  came  on 
very  pluckily,  they  said,  but  they  got  into  confusion, 
and  so  did  the  militia,  and  the  attack  failed  with  serious 
loss.  It  was  the  wounded  of  this  force  which  had  passed 
through  Guildford  in  the  night.  The  officers  asked  us 
eagerly  about  the  arrangements  for  the  battle,  and  when 
we  said  that  the  Guards  were  the  only  regular  troops  in 
this  part  of  the  field,  shook  their  heads  ominously. 

While  we  were  talking,  a  third  officer  came  up ;  he 
was  a  dark  man,  with  a  smooth  face  and  a  curious,  ex- 
cited manner.  "  You  are  volunteers,  I  suppose,"  he  said, 
quickly,  his  eye  flashing  the  while.  "  Well,  now,  look 
here ;  mind,  I  don't  want  to  hurt  your  feelings,  or  to  say 
anything  unpleasant,  but  I'll  tell  you  what :  if  all  you 
gentlemen  were  just  to  go  back,  and  leave  us  to  fight  it 
out  alone,  it  would  be  a  devilish  good  thing.  We  could 
do  it  a  precious  deal  better  without  you,  I  assure  you. 
We  don't  want  your  help,  I  can  tell  you.  We  would 
much  rather  be  left  alone,  I  assure  you.  Mind,  I  don't 
want  to  say  anything  rude,  but  that's  a  fact."  Having 
blurted  out  this  passionately,  he  strode  away  before  any 
one  could  reply,  or  the  other  officers  could  stop  him. 
They  apologized  for  his  rudeness,  saying  that  his  bro- 
ther, also  in  the  regiment,  had  been  killed  on  Sunday, 
and  that  this,  and  the  sun,  and  marching,  had  affected 
hU  head.  The  officers  told  us  that  the  enemy's  ad- 
vanced-guard was  close  behind,  but  that  he  had  appa- 
rently been  waiting  lor  reinforcements,  and  would  prob- 
ably not  attack  in  force  imtil  noon.  It  was,  however, 
nearly  three  o'clock  before  the  battle  began.  We  had 
almost  worn  out  the  feeling  of  expectancy.  For  twelve 
hours  had  Ave  been  waiting  for  the  coming  struggle,  till 
at  last  it  seemed  almost  as  if  the  invasion  were  but  a  bad 


REMINISCENCES   OP   A  VOLUNTEEE.  39 

dream,  and  the  enemy,  as  yet  unseen  by  us,  had  no  real 
existence.  So  far,  things  had  not  been  very  different, 
but  for  the  numbers  and  for  what  we  had  been  told,  from 
a  Volunteer  review  on  Brighton  Downs.  I  remember 
that  these  thoughts  were  passing  through  my  mind  as 
we  lay  down  in  groups  on  the  grass,  some  smoking,  some 
nibbling  at  their  bread,  some  even  asleep,  when  the  list- 
less state  we  had  fallen  into  was  suddenly  disturbed  by 
a  gunshot  fired  from  the  top  of  the  hill  on  our  right,  close 
by  the  big  house.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  heard 
a  shotted  gun  fired,  and  although  it  is  fifty  years  ago, 
the  angry  whistle  of  the  shot,  as  it  left  the  gun,  is  in  my 
ears  now.  The  sound  was  soon  to  become  common 
enough.  We  all  jumped  up  at  the  report,  and  fell  in 
almost  Avithout  the  word  being  given,  grasping  our  rifles 
tightly,  and  the  leading  files  peering  forward  to  look  foi 
the  approaching  enemy.  This  gun  was  apparently  the 
signal  to  begin,  for  now  our  batteries  opened  fii'e  all 
along  the  line.  What  they  were  firing  at  I  could  not 
see,  and  I  am  sure  the  gunners  could  not  see  much  them- 
selves. I  have  told  you  what  a  haze  had  come  over  the 
air  since  the  morning,  and  now  the  smoke  from  the  guns 
settled  like  a  pall  over  the  hill,  and  soon  we  could  see 
little  but  the  men  in  our  ranks,  and  the  outline  of  some 
gunners  in  the  battery  drawn  tap  next  us  on  the  slope 
on  our  right.  This  firing  went  on,  I  should  think,  for 
nearly  a  couple  of  hours,  and  still  there  was  no  reply. 
We  could  see  the  gunners — it  was  a  troop  of  horse-artil- 
lery— working  away  like  fury,  ramming,  loading,  and 
running  up  with  cartridges,  the  oflicer  in  command  riding 
slowly  up  and  down  just  behind  his  guns,  and  peering 
out  with  his  field-glass  into  the  mist.  Once  or  twice 
they  ceased  firing  to  let  their  smoke  clear  away,  but  this 
did  not  do  much  good.  For  nearly  two  hours  did  this 
go  on,  and  not  a  shot  came  in  reply.    If  a  battle  is  like 


40  THE  UATij.ii  OP  dorkixg: 

tliis,  said  Dick  Wake,  wlio  was  my  next-hand  file,  it's 
mild  work,  to  say  the  least.  The  words  were  hardly 
uttered  when  a  rattle  of  musketry  was  heard  iu  front ; 
our  skirmishers  were  at  it,  and  very  soon  the  bullets 
began  to  sing  over  our  heads,  and  some  struck  the 
ground  at  our  feet.  Up  to  this  time  we  had  been  in 
column ;  we  were  now  deployed  into  line  on  the  ground 
assigned  to  us.  From  the  valley  or  gap  on  our  left  there 
ran  a  lane  right  up  the  hill  almost  due  west,  or  along 
our  front.  This  lane  had  a  thick  bank  about  four  feet 
high,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  regiment  was  drawn 
up  behind  it ;  but  a  little  way  up  the  hill  the  lane 
trended  back  out  of  the  line,  so  the  right  of  the  regiment 
here  left  it  and  occupied  the  open  grass-land  of  the  park. 
The  bank  had  been  cut  away  at  this  point  to  admit  of 
our  going  in  and  out.  We  had  been  told  in  tlie  moi-n- 
ing  to  cut  down  the  bushes  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  so  as 
to  make  the  space  clear- for  firing  over,  but  we  had  no 
tools  to  work  with ;  however,  a  party  of  sappers  had 
come  down  and  finislied  the  job.  My  company  was  on 
the  right,  and  was  thus  beyond  the  shelter  of  the  friendly 
bank.  On  our  right,  again,  was  the  battery  of  artillery 
already  mentioned;  then  came  a  battalion  of  the  line, 
then  more  guns,  then  a  great  mass  of  militia  and  volun- 
teers and  a  few  line  uj)  to  the  big  house.  At  least  this 
was  the  order  before  the  firing  began ;  after  that  I  do 
not  know  what  changes  took  place. 

And  now  the  enemy's  artillery  began  to  open ;  where 
their  guns  were  posted  we  could  not  see,  but  we  began 
to  liear  the  rush  of  the  shells  over  our  lieads,  and  the 
bang  as  they  burst  just  beyond.  And  now  what  took 
place  I  can  really  hardly  tell  you.  Sometimes  when  I 
try  and  recall  the  scene,  it  seems  as  if  it  lasted  for  only 
a  few  minutes;  yet,  I  know,  as  we  lay  on  the  ground,  I 
thought  the  hours  would  never  pass  away,  as  we  watched 


EEMIXISCEXCES    OP   A   VOLUNTEER.  41 

the  gunners  still  plying  their  task,  firing  at  the  invisible 
enemy,  never  stopping  for  a  moment  except  when  now 
and  auain  a  dull  blow  would  be  heard  and  a  man  fall 
down,  then  three  or  four  of  his  comrades  would  carry 
him  to  tlie  rear.  The  captain  no  longer  rode  up  and 
down ;  what  had  become  of  him  I  do  not  know.  Two 
of  the  guns  ceased  firing  for  a  time ;  they  had  got  in- 
jured in  some  way,  and  up  rode  an  artillery  general.  I 
think  I  see  him  now,  a  very  handsome  man,  with  straight 
features  and  a  dark  moustache,  his  breast  covered  with 
medals.  He  appeared  in  a  great  rage  at  the  guns  stop- 
ping fire. 

"  Who  commands  this  battery  ?  "  he  cried. 

"I  do,  Sir  Henry,"  said  an  officer,  riding  forward, 
whom  I  had  not  noticed  before. 

The  group  is  before  me  at  this  moment,  standing  out 
clear  against  the  background  of  smoke.  Sir  Henry  erect 
on  his  splendid  charger,  his  flashing  eye,  his  left  arm 
pointing  towards  the  enemy  to  enforce  something  he  was 
going  to  say,  the  young  officer  reining  in  his  horse  just 
beside  him,  and  saluting  with  his  right  hand  raised  to 
his  busby.  This,  for  a  moment,  then  a  dull  thud,  and 
both  horses  and  riders  are  prostrate  on  the  ground.  A 
round  shot  had  struck  all  four  at  the  saddle  line.  Some 
of  the  gunners  ran  up  to  help,  but  neither  officer  could 
have  lived  many  minutes.  This  was  not  the  first  I  saw 
killed.  Some  time  before  this,  almost  immediately  on 
the  enemy's  artillery  opening,  as  we  were  lying,  I  heard 
something  like  the  sound  of  steel  striking  steel,  and  at 
the  same  moment  Dick  Wake,  who  was  next  me  in  the 
ranks,  leaning  on  his  elbows,  sank  forward  on  his  face. 
I  looked  round  and  saw  what  had  happened  ;  a  shot  fired 
at  a  high  elevation,  passing  over  his  head,  had  striick  the 
ground  behind,  nearly  cutting  his  thigh  off".  It  must 
have  been  the  ball  striking  his  sheathed  bayonet  which 


42  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING  t 

made  the  noise.  Three  of  us  carried  the  poor  fellow  to 
the  rear  with  difficulty,  for  the  shattered  limb ;  but  he 
was  nearly  dead  from  loss  of  blood  when  we  got  to  the 
doctor,  who  was  waiting  in  a  sheltered  hollow  about  two 
hundred  yards  in  rear,  with  two  other  doctors  in  plain 
clothes,  who  had  come  up  to  help.  We  deposited  our 
burden  and  returned  to  the  front.  Poor  Wake  was  sen- 
sible when  we  left  him,  but  apparently  too  shaken  by 
the  shock  to  be  able  to  speak.  Wood  was  there,  helping 
the  doctors.  I  paid  more  visits  to  the  rear,  of  the  same 
sort,  before  the  evening  was  over. 

All  this  time  we  were  lying  there  to  be  fired  at  with- 
out returning  a  shot,  for  our  skirmishers  were  holding 
the  line  of  walls  and  enclosures  below.  However,  the 
bank  protected  most  of  us,  and  the  brigadier  now 
ordered  our  right  company,  which  was  in  the  open,  to 
get  behind  it  also ;  and  there  we  lay  about  four  deep,  the 
shells  crashing  and  bullets  whistling  over  our  heads,  but 
hardly  a  man  being  touched.  Our  colonel  was,  indeed, 
the  only  one  exposed,  for  he  rode  up  and  down  the  lane 
at  a  foot-pace,  as  steady  as  a  rock;  but  he  made  the 
major  and  adjutant  dismount,  and  take  shelter  behind 
the  hedge,  holding  their  horses.  We  were  all  pleased  to 
see  him  so  cool,  and  it  restored  our  confidence  in  him, 
which  had  been  shaken  yesterday. 

The  time  seemed  interminable  while  we  lay  thus  in- 
active. We  could  not,  of  course,  help  peering  over  the 
bank  to  try  and  see  what  was  going  on ;  but  there  M'as 
nothing  to  be  made  out,  for  now  a  tremendous  thunder- 
storm, which  had  been  gathering  all  day,  burst  on  us, 
and  a  torrent  of  almost  blinding  rain  came  down,  which 
obscured  the  view  even  more  than  the  smoke,  while  the 
crashing  of  the  thunder  and  the  glare  of  the  lightning 
could  be  heard  and  seen  even  above  the  roar  and  flash- 
ing of  the  artillery.     Once  the  mist  lifted,  and  I  saw  for 


.      REMINISCENCES   OF   A   TOLU>rrEER.  43 

a  minute  an  attack  on  Box  Hill,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
gap  on  our  left.  It  was  like  the  scene  at  a  theatre — a 
curtain  of  smoke  all  round  and  a  clear  gap  in  the  cen- 
tre, Avith  a  sudden  gleam  of  evening  sunshine  lighting  it 
up.  The  steep,  smooth  slope  of  the  hill  was  crowded 
with  the  dark-blue  figures  of  the  enemy,  whom  I  now 
saw  for  the  first  time — an  irregular  outline  in  front,  but 
very  solid  in  rear :  the  whole  body  was  moving  forward 
by  fits  and  starts,  the  men  firing  and  advancing,  the 
ofiiccrs  waving  their  swords,  the  columns  closing  up  and 
gradually  making  way.  Our  people  were  almost  con- 
cealed by  the  bushes  at  the  top,  whence  the  smoke  and 
their  fire  could  be  seen  proceeding :  presently,  from  these 
bushes  on  the  crest  came  out  a  red  line,  and  dashed  down 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  a  flame  of  fire  belching  out  from  the 
front  as  it  advanced.  The  enemy  hesitated,  gave  way, 
and  finally  ran  back  in  a  confused  crowd  down  the  hill. 
Then  the  mist  covered  the  scene,  but  the  glimpse  of  this 
splendid  charge  was  inspiriting,  and  I  hoped  we  should 
show  the  same  coolness  when  it  came  to  our  turn.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  our  skirmishers  fell  back,  a  good 
many  wounded,  some  limping  along  by  themselves,  others 
helped.  The  main  body  retired  in  very  fair  order,  halt- 
ing to  turn  round  and  fire ;  we  could  see  a  mounted 
oflicer  of  the  guards  riding  up  and  do\vn  encouraging 
them  to  be  steady.  Now  came  our  turn.  For  a  few 
minutes  we  saw  nothing,  but  a  rattle  of  bullets  came 
through  the  rain  and  mist,  mostly,  however,  passing  over 
the  bank.  We  began  to  fire  in  reply,  stepping  up  against 
the  bank  to  fire,  and  stooping  down  to  load ;  but  our 
brigade-major  rode  up  with  an  order,  and  the  word  was 
passed  through  the  men  to  reserve  our  fire.  In  a  very 
few  moments,  it  must  have  been,  that,  when  ordered  to 
stand,  we  could  see  the  helmet-spikes,  and  then  the 
figures  of  the  skirmishers,  as  they  came  on :  a  lot  of 


44  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

them  there  appeared  to  be,  five  or  six  deep,  I  should  say, 
but  in  loose  order,  each  man  stopping  to  aim  and  fire, 
and  then  coming  forward  a  little.  Just  then  the  brigadier 
clattered  on  horseback  up  the  lane.  "  Now,  then,  gentle- 
men, give  it  to  them  hot,"  he  cried ;  and  fire  away  we 
did,  as  fast  as  ever  we  were  able.  A  perfect  storm  of 
bullets  seemed  to  be  flying  about  us  too,  and  I  thought 
each  moment  must  be  the  last ;  escape  seemed  impos- 
sible ;  but  I  saw  no  one  fall,  for  I  was  too  busy,  and  so 
were  we  all,  to  look  to  the  right  or  left,  but  loaded  and 
fired  as  fast  as  I  could.  How  long  this  went  on  I  know 
not — it  could  not  have  been  long ;  neither  side  could  have 
lasted  many  minutes  under  such  a  fire  ;  but  it  ended  by 
the  enemy  gradually  falling  back,  and  as  soon  as  we  saw 
this,  we  raised  a  tremendous  shout,  and  some  of  us 
jumped  up  on  the  bank  to  give  them  our  parting  shots. 
Suddenly,  the  order  was  passed  down  the  line  to  cease 
firing,  and  we  soon  discovered  the  cause ;  a  battalion  of 
the  Guards  was  charging  obliquely  across  from  our  left 
across  our  fx'ont.  It  was,  I  expect,  their  flank  attack,  as 
much  as  our  fire,  which  had  turned  back  the  enemy ;  and 
it  was  a  splendid  sight  to  see  their  steady  line,  as  they 
advanced  slowly  across  the  smooth  lawn  below  us,  firing 
as  they  went,  but  as  steady  as  if  on  parade.  We  felt  a 
great  elation  at  this  moment;  it  seemed  as  if  the  battle 
was  won.  Just  then  somebody  called  out  to  look  to  the 
wounded,  and  for  the  first  time  I  turned  to  glance  down 
the  rank  along  the  lane.  Then  I  saw  that  we  had  not 
beaten  back  the  attack  without  loss.  Immediately 
before  me  lay  Lawford  of  my  oftice,  dead  on  his  back 
from  a  bullet  through  his  forehead,  his  hand  still  grasp- 
ing his  rifle.  At  every  step  was  some  friend  or  acquaint- 
ance killed  or  wounded,  and  a  few  paces  down  the  lane  I 
found  Travers,  sitting  with  his  back  against  the  bank. 
A   ball  had   gone   through   his   lungs,   and   blood  was 


REMINISCENCES   OP   A  VOLUNTEER.  45 

coming  from  his  month.  I  Avas  lifting  him,  but  tlie 
cry  of  agony  he  gave  stopped  me.  I  then  saw  that  this 
Avas  not  his  only  Avound;  his  thigh  was  smashed  by 
a  bullet  (which  must  have  struck  him  when  standing  on 
tlie  bank),  and  the  blood  streaming  down  mixed  in  a 
muddy  puddle  Avith  the  rain-Avater  under  him.  Still  he 
could  not  be  left  here,  so,  lifting  him  up  as  well  as  I 
could,  I  caiTied  him  through  the  gate  Avhich  led  out  of 
the  lane  at  the  back  to  where  our  camp  hospital  Avas  in 
the  rear.  The  movement  must  have  caused  him  awful 
agony,  for  I  could  not  support  the  broken  thigh,  and  he 
could  not  restrain  his  groans,  braA'C  felloAV  though  he 
was ;  but  how  I  carried  him  at  all  I  cannot  make  out,  for 
he  was  a  much  bigger  man  than  myself;  but  I  had  not 
gone  far,  one  of  a  stream  of  our  fellows,  all  on  the  same 
errand,  when  a  bandsman  and  Wood  met  me,  bringing  a 
hurdle  as  a  stretcher,  and  on  this  we  placed  him.  Wood 
had  just  time  to  tell  me  that  lie  had  got  a  cart  doAvn  in 
the  hoUoAV,  and  Avould  endeaA'Our  to  take  off  his  master 
at  once  to  Kingston,  when  a  staff-officer  rode  up  to  call 
us  to  the  ranks.  "You  really  must  not  straggle  in  this 
way,  gentlemen,"  he  said ;  ''  pray  keep  your  ranks." 
"  But  Ave  can't  leaA'c  our  Avounded  to  be  trodden  doAvn 
and  die,"  cried  one  of  our  fellows.  "Beat  off  the  enemy 
tirst,  sir,  he  replied.  "  Gentlemen,  do,  pray,  join  your 
regiments,  or  Ave  shall  be  a  regular  mob."  And,  no 
doubt  he  did  not  speak  too  soon ;  for  besides  our  fclloAra 
straggling  to  the  rear,  lots  of  volunteers  from  the  regi- 
ments in  reserve  Avere  running  forward  to  help,  till  tlie 
whole  ground  Avas  dotted  Avith  groups  of  men. 

I  hastened  back  to  my  post,  but  I  had  just  time  to 
notice  that  all  the  ground  in  our  rear  was  occupied  by  a 
thick  mass  of  troops,  much  more  numerous  than  in  the 
morning,  and  a  column  was  moving  down  to  the  left  of 
our  line,  to  tlie  ground  now  held  by  the  Guards.     All 


46  THE    nATTLE    OF   DOKKIXG : 

this  time,  although  the  musketry  had  Blackened,  the  ar- 
tillery fire  seemed  heavier  than  ever ;  the  shells  screamed 
overhead  or  burst  around ;  and  I  confess  to  feeling  quite 
a  relief  at  getting  back  to  the  friendly  shelter  of  the 
lane.  Looking  over  the  bank,  I  noticed  for  the  first  time 
the  frightful  execution  our  fire  had  created.  Tlie  space 
in  front  was  thickly  strewed  with  dead  or  badly  wounded, 
and  beyond  the  bodies  of  the  fallen  enemy  could  just  be 
seen — for  it  was  now  getting  dusk — the  bearskins  and 
red  coats  of  our  own  gallant  Guards  scattered  over  the 
slope,  and  marking  the  line  of  their  victorious  advance. 
But  hardly  a  minute  could  have  passed  in  thus  looking 
over  the  field,  when  our  brigade-major  came  moving  up 
the  lane  on  foot  (I  suppose  his  horse  had  been  shot), 
crying,  "  Stand  to  your  arms,  Volunteers !  they're  com- 
ing on  again ; "  and  we  found  ourselves  a  second  time  en- 
gaged in  a  hot  miisketry  fire.  How  long  it  went  on  I 
cannot  now  remember,  but  we  could  distinguish  clearly 
the  thick  line  of  skirmishers,  about  sixty  paces  ofi",  and 
mounted  officers  among  them;  and  we  seemed  to  be 
keeping  them  well  in  check,  for  they  were  quite  exposed 
to  our  fire,  while  we  were  protected  nearly  up  to  our 
Bhoulders,  when — I  know  not  how — I  became  sensible 
that  something  had  gone  wrong.  "  We  are  taken  in 
flank  !  "  called  out  some  one ;  and  looking  along  the  left, 
sure  enough  there  were  dark  figures  jumping  over  the 
bank  into  the  lane  and  firing  up  along  our  line.  The 
volunteers  in  reserve,  who  had  come  down  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Guards,  must  have  given  way  at  this  point; 
the  enemy's  skirmishers  had  got  through  our  line,  and 
turned  our  left  flank.  How  the  next  move  caine  about  I 
cannot  recollect,  or  whether  it  was  without  orders,  but 
in  a  short  time  we  found  ourselves  out  of  the  lane  and 
drawn  uf>  in  a  straggling  line  about  thirty  yards  in  rear 
of  it — at  our  end,  that  is,  the  other  flank  had  fallen  back 


REMINISCENCES    OP    A    YOLUNTEETJ.  47 

a  good  deal  more — and  the  enemy  were  lining  the  hedge, 
and  numbers  of  them  passing  over  and  forming  up  on 
our  side.  Beyond  our  left  a  confused  mass  were  retreat- 
ing, firing  as  they  went,  followed  by  the  advancing  line 
of  the  enemy.  We  stood  in  this  way  for  a  short  space, 
firing  at  random  as  fast  as  we  could.  Our  colonel  and 
major  must  have  been  shot,  for  there  was  no  one  to  give 
an  order,  when  somebody  on  horseback  called  out  from 
behind — I  think  it  must  have  been  the  brigadier — "  Now, 
then.  Volunteers !  give  a  British  cheer,  and  go  at  them 
— charge  !  "  and,  with  a  shout,  we  rushed  at  the  enemy. 
Some  ran,  some  of  them  stopped  to  meet  us,  and  for  a 
moment  it  was  a  real  hand-to-hand  fight.  I  felt  a  sharp 
sting  in  my  leg,  as  I  drove  my  bayonet  right  through 
the  man  in  front  of  me.  I  confess  I  shut  my  eyes,  for  I 
just  got  a  glimpse  of  the  poor  wretch  as  he  fell  back,  his 
eyes  starting  out  of  his  head,  and,  savage  though  we 
were,  the  sight  was  almost  too  horrible  to  look  at.  But 
the  struggle  Avas  over  in  a  second,  and  we  had  cleared 
the  ground  again  right  up  to  the  rear  hedge  of  the  lane. 
Had  we  gone  on,  I  believe  we  might  have  recovered  the 
lane  too,  but  we  were  now  all  out  of  order ;  there  was  no 
one  to  say  what  to  do  ;  the  enemy  begun  to  line  tlie  hedge 
and  open  fire ;  and  they  were  streaming  past  our  left ; 
afid  how  it  came  about  I  know  not,  but  we  found  our- 
selves falling  back  towards  our  right  rear,  scarce  any 
semblance  of  a  line  remaining,  and  the  volunteers  who 
liad  given  way  on  our  left  mixed  up  witli  us,  and  adding 
to  the  confusion.  It  was  now  nearly  dark.  On  the 
slopes  which  Ave  were  retreating  to  Avas  a  large  mass  of 
reserves  draAvn  up  in  columns.  Some  of  the  leading  files 
of  these,  mistaking  us  for  the  enemy,  began  firing  at  us ; 
our  fellows,  crying  out  to  them  to  stop,  ran  toAvards 
their  ranks,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  Avhole  slope  of  the 
hill  became  a  scene  of  confusion  that  I  cannot  attempt  to 


48  THE    r.AlTLE    OF   DOliKIXG: 

describe,  regiments  and  detachments  mixed  up  in  hope- 
less disorder.  Most  of  us,  I  believe,  turned  towards  the 
enemy  and  fired  away  our  few  remaining  cartridges ;  but 
it  was  too  late  to  take  aim,  fortunately  for  us,  or  the  guns 
which  the  enemy  had  brought  up  through  the  gap,  and 
were  firing  point-blank,  would  have  done  more  damage. 
As  it  was,  we  could  see  little  more  than  the  bright 
flashes  of  their  fire.  In  our  confusion  we  had  jammed  up 
a  line  regiment  immediately  behind  us,  and  its  colonel  and 
some  staff  officers  were  in  vain  trying  to  make  a  passage 
for  it,  and  their  shouts  to  us  to  march  to  the  rear  and 
clear  a  road  could  be  heard  above  the  roar  of  the  guns, 
and  the  confused  babel  of  sound.  At  last  a  mounted 
officer  pushed  his  way  through,  followed  by  a  company 
in  sections,  the  men  brushing  past  with  firm-set  faces,  as 
if  on  a  desperate  task;  and  the  battalion,  when  it  got 
clear,  appear  to  deploy  and  advance  down  the  slope. 
I  have  also  a  dim  recollection  of  seeing  the  Life  Guards 
ti'ot  past  the  front,  and  push  on  towards  the  town — a 
last  desperate  attempt  to  save  the  day — before  we  left 
the  field.  Our  adjutant,  who  had  got  sejjarated  from 
our  flank  of  the  regiment  in  the  confusion,  now  came  up, 
and  managed  to  lead  us,  or  at  any  rate  some  of  us,  up 
to  the  crest  of  the  hill  in  the  rear,  to  re-form,  as  he  said ; 
but  there  we  met  a  vast  crowd  of  volunteers,  militia,  aiM 
wagons,  all  hurrying  rearward  from  the  direction  of 
the  big  house,  and  we  were  borne  in  the  stream  for  a 
mile  at  least  before  it  was  possible  to  stop.  At  last  the 
adjutant  led  us  to  an  open  space  a  little  off"  the  line  of 
fugitives,  and  there  we  reformed  the  remains  of  the  com- 
])anies.  Telling  us  to  halt,  he  rode  off"  to  try  and  obtain 
orders,  an<l  find  out  whore  the  rest  of  our  brigade  was. 
From  this  point,  a  S})ur  of  high  ground  running  off' from 
tho  main  plateau,  we  looked  <lown  thro\igh  the  dim  tAvi- 
light  into  the  battle-field  below.     Artillery  fire  was  still 


nKMlNlSCENCES   OP   A   VOLUNTEER.  49 

going  on.  We  could  see  the  flashes  from  the  guns  on 
both  sides,  and  now  and  then  a  stray  shell  came  scream- 
ing up  and  burst  near  us,  but  we  were  beyond  the  sound 
of  musketry.  This  halt  first  gave  time  to  think  about 
what  had  happened.  The  long  day  of  expectancy  had 
been  succeeded  by  the  excitement  of  battle ;  and  when 
each  minute  may  be  your  last,  you  do  not  think  much 
about  other  people,  nor  when  you  are  facing  another  man 
with  a  rifle  have  you  time  to  consider  whether  he  or  you 
are  the  invader,  or  that  you  are  fighting  for  your  home 
and  hearths.  All  fighting  is  pretty  much  alike,  I  suspect, 
as  to  sentiment,  when  once  it  begins.  But  now  we  had 
time  for  reflection ;  and  although  we  did  not  yet  quite 
undestand  how  far  the  day  had  gone  against  us,  an  un- 
easy feeling  of  self-condemnation  must  have  come  up  in 
the  minds  of  most  of  us ;  while,  above  all,  we  now  began 
to  realise  what  the  loss  of  this  battle  meant  to  the  coun- 
try. Then,  too,  we  knew  not  of  what  had  become  of  all 
our  wounded  comrades.  Reaction,  too,  set  in  after  the 
fatigue  and  excitement.  For  myself,  I  had  found  out  for 
the  first  time  that  besides  the  bayonet-wound  in  my  leg, 
a  bullet  had  gone  through  my  left  arm,  just  below  the 
shoulder,  and  outside  the  bone.  I  remember  feeling 
something  like  a  blow  just  when  we  lost  the  lane,  but 
the  wound  passed  uimoticed  until  now,  when  the  bleed- 
ing had  stojiped  and  the  shirt  was  sticking  to  the  wound. 
This  half-hour  seemed  an  age,  and  while  we  stood  on 
this  knoll  the  endless  tramp  of  men  and  rumbling  of 
carts  along  the  downs  beside  us  told  their  own  tale. 
The  whole  army  was  falling  back.  At  last  we  •could 
discern  the  adjutant  riding  up  to  us  out  of  the  dark. 
The  array  was  to  retreat,  and  take  up  a  position  on 
Kpsom  Downs,  he  said  ;  we  should  join  in  the  march, 
and  try  and  iind  our  Itrigade  in  the  morning ;  and  so  we 
turned  into  the  throng  again,  and  made  our  way  on  as 
3 


60  THE   BATTLE   OP  DO  EKING  I 

best  we  conld.  A  few  scraps  of  news  he  gave  us  as  he 
rode  alongside  of  our  leading  section  ;  the  army  held  its 
position  well  for  a  time,  but  the  enemy  had  at  last 
broken  through  the  line  between  us  and  Guildford,  as 
well  as  in  our  front,  and  had  poured  his  men  through  the 
point  gained,  throwing  the  line  into  confusion,  and  the 
first  army  corps  near  Guildford  were  also  falling  back  to 
avoid  being  outflanked.  The  regular  troops  were  holding 
the  rear ;  we  were  to  push  on  as  fast  as  possible  to  get 
out  of  their  way,  and  allow  them  to  make  an  orderly  re- 
treat in  the  morning.  The  gallant  old  lord  commanding 
our  corps  had  been  badly  wounded  early  in  the  day,  he 
heard,  and  carried  off  the  field.  The  Guards  had  suf- 
fered dreadfully ;  the  household  cavalry  had  ridden 
down  the  curiassiers,  but  had  got  into  broken  ground 
and  been  awfully  cut  up.  Such  was  the  scraps  of  news 
passed  down  our  weary  column.  What  had  become  of 
our  wounded  no  one  knew,  and  no  one  liked  to  ask.  So 
we  trudged  on.  It  must  have  been  midnight  when  we 
reached  Leatlierhead.  Here  we  left  the  open  ground 
and  took  to  the  road,  and  the  block  became  greater.  We 
pushed  our  way  painfully  along ;  several  trains  passed 
slowly  ahead  along  the  railway  by  the  roadside,  contain- 
ing the  wounded,  we  supposed — such  of  them,  at  least,  as 
were  lucky  enough  to  be  picked  up.  It  was  daylight 
when  we  got  to  Epsom.  The  night  had  been  bright  and 
clear  after  the  storm,  with  a  cool  air,  which,  blowing 
through  my  soaking  clothes,  chilled  me  to  the  bone. 
My  wounded  leg  was  stift'  and  sore,  and  I  was  ready  to 
drop  with  exhaustion  and  hunger.  Nor  were  my  com- 
rades in  much  better  case;  we  had  eaten  nothing  since 
Ijieakfast  the  day  before,  and  the  bread  we  had  put  by 
been  washed  away  by  the  storm — only  a  little  pulp 
had  remained  at  the  bottom  oi  my  bag.  The  tobacco 
was  all  too  wet  to  smoke.     In  this  pliglit  we  were  creep- 


KEmN^ISCENCES   OP  A  VOLUNTEER.  51 

ing  along,  Avhen  the  adjutant  guided  us  into  a  field  by 
the  roadside  to  rest  awhile,  and  we  lay  down  exhausted 
on  the  sloppy  grass.  The  roll  was  here  taken,  and  only 
180  answered  out  of  nearly  500  present  on  the  morning 
of  the  battle.  How  many  of  these  were  killed  and 
wounded  no  one  could  tell;  but  it  was  certain  many 
must  have  got  separated  in  the  confusion  of  the  evening. 
While  resting  here,  we  saw  pass  by,  in  the  crowd  of 
vehicles  and  men,  a  cart  laden  with  commissariat  stores, 
driven  by  a  man  in  uniform.  "  Food  !  "  cried  some  one, 
and  a  dozen  volunteers  jumped  up  and  surrounded  the 
cart.  The  driver  tried  to  whip  them  off;  but  he  was 
pulled  off  his  seat,  and  the  contents  of  the  cart  thrown 
out  in  an  instant.  They  were  preserved  meats  in  tins, 
which  we  tore  open  with  our  bayonets.  The  meat  had 
been  cooked  before,  I  think  ;  at  any  rate  we  devoured  it. 
Shortly  after  this  a  general  came  by  with  three  or  four 
staff-officers.  He  stopped  and  spoke  to  our  adjutant,  and 
then  rode  into  the  field.  ''  My  lads,"  said  he,  "  you  shall 
join  my  division  for  the  present :  fall  in,  and  follow  the 
regiment  that  is  now  passing."  We  rose  up,  fell  in  by 
companies,  each  about  twenty  sti'ong,  and  turned  once 
more  into  the  stream  moving  along  the  road  ; — regiments, 
detachments,  single  volunteers  or  militiamen,  country 
people  making  off,  some  with  bundles,  some  without,  a 
few  in  carts,  but  most  on  foot ;  here  and  there  w^agons 
of  stores,  with  men  sitting  wherever  there  was  room, 
others  crammed  with  wounded  soldiers.  Many  blocks 
occurred  from  horses  falling,  or  carts  breaking  down  and 
filling  up  the  road.  In  the  town  the  confusion  was  even 
Avorse,  for  all  the  houses  seemed  full  of  volunteers  and 
militiamen,  wounded  or  resting,  or  trying  to  find  food, 
and  the  streets  were  almost  choked  up.  Some  officers 
were  in  vain  trying  to  restore  order,  but  the  task  seemed 
a  hopeless  one.     One  or  two  volunteer  regiments  which 


52  TUE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

had  arrived  from  the  north  the  previous  night,  and  had 
been  halted  here  for  orders,  were  drawn  up  along 
the  roadside  steadily  enough,  and  some  of  the  retreating 
regiments,  including  ours,  may  have  preserved  the  sem- 
blance of  discipline,  but  for  the  most  part  the  mass 
pushing  to  the  rear  was  a  mere  mob.  The  regulars, 
or  what  remained  of  them,  were  now,  I  believe,  all  in 
the  rear,  to  hold  the  advancing  enemy  in  check.  A  few 
officers  among  such  a  crowd  do  nothing.  To  add  to  the 
confusion,  several  houses  were  being  emptied  of  the 
wounded  brought  here  the  night  before,  to  prevent  their 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  some  in  carts,  some 
being  carried  to  the  railway  by  men.  The  groans  of 
these  poor  fellows  as  they  were  jostled  through  the 
streets  went  to  our  hearts,  selfish  though  fatigue  and  suf- 
fering had  made  us.  At  last,  following  the  guidance  of 
a  staft'-officer,  who  was  standing  to  show  the  way,  we 
turned  off  from  the  main  London  road  and  took  that 
towards  Kingston.  Here  the  crush  was  less,  and  we 
managed  to  move  along  pretty  steadily.  The  air  had 
been  cooled  by  the  storm,  and  there  was  no  dust.  We 
passed  through  a  village  where  our  new  general  had 
seized  all  the  public  houses,  and  taken  possession  of  the 
liquor;  and  each  regiment  as  it  came  up  was  halted,  and 
each  man  got  a  drink  of  beer,  served  out  by  companies. 
Whether  the  owner  got  paid  I  know  not,  but  it  was  like 
nectar.  It  must  have  been  about  one  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon that  we  came  in  sight  of  Kingston.  We  had  been 
on  our  legs  sixteen  hours,  and  had  got  over  about  twelve 
miles  of  ground.  There  is  a  hill  a  little  south  of  the 
Surbiton  station,  covered  then  mostly  with  villas,  but 
open  at  the  western  extremity  where  there  was  a  clump 
of  trees  on  the  summit.  We  had  diverged  from  the  road 
towards  this,  and  here  the  general  halted  us  and  disposed 
the  Ime  of  the  division  along  his  front,  facing  to  the 


EEMINISCEXCES    OF    A    VOLUNTEER.  53 

south-west,  the  right  of  the  line  reaching  down  to  the 
Thames,  the  left  extending  along  the  southern  slope  of 
the  hill,  in  the  direction  of  the  Epsom  road  by  which  we 
had  come.  We  were  nearly  in  the  centre,  occupying  the 
knoll  just  in  front  of  the  general,  who  dismounted  on 
the  top  and  tied  his  horse  to  a  tree.  It  is  not  much  of  a 
hill,  but  commands  an  extensive  view  over  the  flat 
country  around ;  and  as  we  lay  wearily  on  the  ground 
we  could  see  the  Thames  glistening  like  a  silver  field  in 
the  bright  sunshine,  the  palace  at  Hampton  Court,  the 
bridge  at  Kingston,  and  the  old  church  tower  rising 
above  the  haze  of  the  town,  with  the  woods  of  Richmond 
Park  behind  it.  To  most  of  us  the  scene  could  not  but 
call  up  the  associations  of  happy  days  of  peace — days 
now  ended  and  peace  destroyed  through  national  infatu- 
ation. We  did  not  say  this  to  each  other,  bat  a  deep 
depression  had  come  upon  us,  partly  due  to  w^eakness 
and  fatigue,  no  doubt,  but  we  saw  that  another  stand 
was  going  to  be  made,  and  we  had  no  longer  any  confi- 
dence in  ourselves.  If  we  could  not  hold  our  own  when 
stationary  in  line,  on  a  good  position,  but  had  been 
broken  up  into  a  rabble  at  the  first  shock,  what  chance 
had  we  now  of  manoeuvring  against  a  victorious  enemy 
in  this  open  ground  ?  A  feeling  of  desperation  came 
over  us,  a  determination  to  struggle  on  against  hope ; 
but  anxiety  for  the  future  of  the  country,  and  our  friends, 
and  all  dear  to  us,  filled  our  thoughts  now  that  we  had 
time  for  reflection.  We  had  had  no  news  of  any  kind 
since  Wood  joined  us  the  day  before — we  knew  not  what 
was  doing  in  London,  or  what  the  Government  was 
about,  or  anything  else ;  and  exhausted  though  we  were, 
we  felt  an  intense  craving  to  know  what  was  happening 
in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Our  general  had  expected  to  find  a  supply  of  food 
and  ammunition  here,  but  nothing  turned  up.     Most  of 


54  THE    BATTLK    OF    DOIUCIXG  : 

US  had  hardly  a  cartridge  left ;  so  he  ordered  a  regiiuent 
next  to  us,  which  came  from  the  north,  and  had  not  been 
engaged,  to  give  us  enough  to  make  up  twenty  rounds  a 
man,  and  he  sent  off  a  fatigue  party  to  Kingston  to  try 
and  get  provisions,  while  a  detachment  of  our  fellows 
was  allowed  to  go  foraging  among  the  villas  in  our  rear; 
and  in  about  an  hour  they  brought  back  some  bread  and 
meat,  which  gave,  us  a  slender  meal  all  round.  They 
said  most  of  the  houses  Avere  empty,  and  that  many  had 
been  stripjjed  of  all  eatables,  and  a  good  deal  damaged 
already. 

It  must  have  been  between  three  and  four  o'clock 
when  the  sound  of  cannonading  began  to  be  heard  in 
the  front,  and  we  could  see  the  smoke  of  the  guns  rising 
above  the  woods  of  Esher  and  Clareniont,  and  soon  after- 
wards some  troops  emerged  from  below  us.  It  was  the 
rear-guard  of  regular  troops.  There  were  some  guns 
also,  which  were  driven  up  the  slope  and  took  up  their 
position  round  the  knoll.  There  were  three  batteries, 
but  they  only  counted  eight  guns  amongst  them.  Behind 
them  was  posted  the  line ;  it  was  a  brigade  apparently 
of  four  regiments,  but  the  whole  did  not  look  to  be  more 
than  eight  or  nine  hundred  men.  Our  regiment  and  an- 
other had  been  moved  a  little  to  the  rear  to  make  way 
for  them,  and  presently  we  were  ordered  down  to  occupy 
the  railway  station  on  our  right  rear.  My  leg  was  now 
80  stiff  I  could  no  longer  march  with  the  rest,  and  my 
left  arm  was  very  swollen  and  sore,  and  almost  useless ; 
but  anything  seemed  better  than  being  left  behind,  so  I 
limped  after  the  battalion  as  best  I  could  down  to  the 
station.  There  was  a  goods  shed  a  little  in  advance  of 
it  down  the  line,  a  strong  brick  building,  and  here  my 
company  was  posted.  The  rest  of  our  men  lined  the 
wall  of  the  enclosure.  A  staff-officer  came  with  us  to 
arrange  the  distribution  j   we  should  be  supported  by 


EEinNISCENCES    OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  55 

line  troops,  he  said ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  a  train  full 
of  them  came  slowly  up  from  Guildford  way.  It  was  the 
last  the  men  got  out,  the  train  passed  on,  and  a  party  be- 
gan to  tear  up  the  rails,  while  the  rest  were  distributed 
among  the  houses  on  each  side.  A  sergeant's  party 
joined  us  in  our  shed,  and  an  engineer  officer  with  sap- 
pers came  to  knock  holes  in  the  wall  for  us  to  fire  from ; 
but  there  were  only  half-a-dozen  of  them,  so  progress 
was  not  rapid,  and  as  we  had  no  tools  we  could  not  help. 

It  was  while  we  were  watching  this  job,  that  the  ad- 
jutant, who  was  as  active  as  ever,  looked  in,  and  told  us 
to  muster  in  the  yard.  The  fatigue-party  had  come  from 
Kingston,  and  a  small  baker's  handcart  of  food  was  made 
over  to  us  as  our  share.  It  contained  loaves,  flour,  and 
some  joints  of  meat.  The  meat  and  the  flour  we  had  not 
time  nor  means  to  cook.  The  loaves  we  devoured  ;  and 
there  was  a  tap  of  water  in  the  yard,  so  we  felt  refreshed 
by  the  meal.  I  should  have  liked  to  wash  my  wounds, 
which  were  becoming  very  ofiensive,  but  I  dared  not  take 
ofl'my  coat,  feeling  sure  I  should  not  be  able  to  get  it  on 
again.  It  was  while  we  were  eating  our  bread  that  the 
rumor  first  reached  us  of  another  disaster,  even  greater 
than  tliat  we  had  witnessed  ourselves.  Whence  it  came, 
I  know  not ;  but  a  whisper  went  down  the  ranks  that 
Woolwich  had  been  captured.  We  all  knew  that  it  was 
our  only  arsenal,  and  understood  the  significance  of  tlie 
blow.  No  hope,  if  this  were  true,  of  saving  the  country. 
Thinking  over  this,  we  went  back  to  the  shed. 

Although  this  was  only  our  second  day  of  war,  I 
think  we  were  already  old  soldiers,  so  far  that  we  had 
come  to  be  careless  about  fire,  and  the  shot  and  shell  that 
now  began  to  open  on  us  made  no  sensation.  We  felt, 
indeed,  our  need  of  discipline,  and  we  saw  plainly 
enough  the  slender  chance  of  success  coming  out  of  such 
a  rabble  as  we  were ;  but  I  think  we  were  all  determined 


56  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKING: 

to  fight  on  as  long  as  we  could.  Our  gallant  adjutant 
gave  his  spirit  to  everybody  ;  and  the  staff-officer  com- 
manding was  a  very  cheery  fellow,  and  went  about  as  if 
we  were  certain  of  victory.  Just  as  the  firing  began,  he 
looked  in  to  say  that  we  were  as  safe  as  in  a  church,  that 
we  must  be  sure  and  pepper  the  enemy  well,  and  that 
more  cartridges  would  soon  arrive.  There  were  some 
steps  and  benches  in  the  shed,  and  on  these  a  part  of  our 
men  were  standing,  to  fire  through  the  upper  loop-holes, 
while  the  line  soldiei's  and  others  stood  on  the  ground, 
guarding  the  second  row.  I  sat  on  the  floor,  for  I  could 
not  now  use  my  rifle,  and  besides,  there  were  more  men 
than  loop-holes.  The  artillery  fire  which  had  opened 
now  on  our  position  was  from  a  longish  range  ;  and 
occupation  for  the  riflemen  had  hardly  begun  when  there 
was  a  crash  in  the  shed,  and  I  was  knocked  down  by  a 
blow  on  the  head.  I  was  almost  stunned  for  a  time,  and 
could  not  make  out  what  had  happened.  A  shot  or 
shell  had  hit  the  shed  without  quite  penetrating  the  Avail, 
but  the  blow  had  upset  the  steps  resting  against  it,  and 
the  men  standing  on  them,  bringing  down  a  cloud  of 
plaster  and  brickbats,  one  of  which  had  struck  me.  I  felt 
now  past  being  of  use.  I  could  not  use  my  rifle,  and 
could  barely  stand  ;  and  after  a  time  I  thought  I  would 
make  for  my  own  house,  on  the  chance  of  finding  some 
one  still  there.  I  got  up,  therefore,  and  staggei'ed  home- 
wards. Musketry  fire  had  now  commenced,  and  our  side 
were  blazing  away  from  the  windows  of  the  houses,  and 
from  behind  walls,  and  from  the  shelter  of  some  trucks 
still  standing  in  the  station.  A  couple  of  field-pieces  in 
the  yard  were  tiling,  and  in  the  0})en  space  in  rear  a  re- 
serve was  drawn  up.  There,  too,  was  the  staft-officer  on 
horseback,  watching  the  fight  tlirough  his  field-glass.  I 
remember  having  still  enough  sense  to  feel  that  the  posi- 
tion was  a  hopeless  one.     That  straggling  line  of  houses 


EEillXISCRXCES    OF    A    VOLUNTEER.  5*7 

and  gardens  ■would  surely  be  broken  through  at  some 
point,  and  then  the  line  must  give  way  like  a  rope  of 
sand. 

It  was  about  a  mile  to  our  house,  and  I  was  thinking 
how  T  could  possibly  drag  myself  so  far  when  I  suddenly 
recollected  that  I  was  passing  Travers's  house — one  of 
the  first  of  a  row  of  villas  then  leading  from  the  station 
to  Kingston.  Had  he  been  brought  home,  I  wondered, 
as  his  faithful  old  servant  promised,  and  was  his  wife 
still  here?  I  remember  to  this  day  the  sensation  of 
shame  I  felt,  when  I  recollected  that  I  had  not  once 
given  him — ray  greatest  friend — a  thought  since  I  car- 
ried him  off  the  field  the  day  before.  But  war  and  suf- 
fering make  men  selfish.  I  would  go  in,  now,  at  any 
rate,  and  rest  awhile,  and  see  if  I  could  be  of  use.  The 
little  garden  before  the  house  was  as  trim  as  ever — I 
used  to  pass  it  every  day  on  my  way  to  the  train,  and 
knew  every  shrub  in  it — and  a  blaze  of  flowers,  but  the 
hall  door  stood  ajar.  I  stepped  in  and  saw  little  Arthur 
standing  in  the  halL  He  had  been  dressed  as  neatly  as 
ever  that  day,  and  as  he  stood  there  in  his  pretty  blue 
frock  and  white  trousers  and  socks  showing  his  chubby 
little  legs,  with  his  golden  locks,  fair  face,  and  large  dark 
eyes,  the  picture  of  childish  beauty,  in  the  .quiet  hall, 
just  as  it  used  to  look — the  vases  of  flowers,  the  hat  and 
coats  hanging  up,  the  familiar  pictures  on  the  walls — 
this  vision  of  peace  in  the  midst  of  war  made  me  wonder 
for  a  moment,  faint  and  giddy  as  I  was,  if  the  pandemo- 
nium outside  had  any  real  existence,  and  was  not  merely 
a  hideous  dream.  But  the  roar  of  the  guns  making  the 
house  shake,  and  the  rushing  of  the  shot,  gave  a  ready 
answer.  The  little  fellow  appeared  almost  unconscious 
of  the  scene  around  him,  and  was  walking  up  the  stairs 
holding  by  the  railing,  one  step  at  a  time,  as  I  had  seen 
him  do  a  hundred  times  before,  but  turned  round  as  I 
3* 


68  THE   BATTLE    OF   DOKKEfG  I 

came  in.  My  appearance  frightened  him,  and  staggering 
as  I  did  into  the  hall,  my  face  and  clothes  covered  with 
blood  and  dirt,  I  must  have  looked  an  awful  object  to 
the  child,  for  he  gave  a  cry  and  turned  to  run  toward 
the  basement  stairs.  But  he  stopped  on  hearing  my 
voice  calling  him  back  to  his  god-papa,  and  after  a  while 
came  timidly  up  to  me.  Papa  had  been  to  the  battle,  he 
said,  and  was  very  ill :  mamma  was  with  papa :  Wood 
was  out:  Lucy  was  in  the  cellar,  and  had  taken  him 
there,  but  he  wanted  to  go  to  mamma.  Telling  him  to 
stay  in  the  hall  for  a  minute  till  I  called  him,  I  climbed 
up-stairs  and  opened  the  bedroom  door.  My  poor  friend 
lay  there,  his  body  resting  on  the  bed,  his  head  sup- 
ported on  his  wife's  slioulder  as  she  sat  by  the  bedside. 
He  "breathed  heavily,  but  the  pallor  of  his  face,  the  closed 
eyes,  the  prostrate  arms,  the  clammy  loam  she  was 
wiping  from  his  mouth,  all  spoke  of  approaching  death. 
The  good  old  servant  had  done  his  duty,  at  least — he 
had  brought  his  master  home  to  die  in  his  wife's  arms. 
The  poor  woman  was  too  intent  on  her  charge  to  notice 
the  opening  of  the  door,  and  as  the  child  would  be  better 
away,  I  closed  it  gently  and  went  down  to  the  hall  to 
take  little  Arthur  to  the  shelter  below,  where  the  maid 
was  hiding.  Too  late  !  He  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs 
on  his  face,  his  little  arms  stretched  out,  his  hair  dabbled 
in  blood.  I  had  not  noticed  the  crash  among  the  other 
noises,  but  a  splinter  of  a  shell  must  have  come  thi-ough 
the  open  doorway;  it  had  carried  away  the  back  of  his 
head.  The  poor  child's  death  must  have  been  instanta- 
neous. I  tried  to  lift  up  the  Utile  corpse  with  my  one 
arm,  but  even  this  load  was  too  much  for  me,  and  while 
stoo))ing  down  I  fainted  away. 

When  I  came  to  my  senses  again  it  was  quite  dark, 
and  for  some  time  I  could  not  make  out  where  I  was ;  I 
lay  indeed  for  some  time  like  one  half  asleep,  feeling  no 


REMINISCENCES   OF  A  TOLUNTEEE.  59 

inclination  to  move.  By  degrees  I  became  aware  that  I 
was  on  the  carpeted  floor  of  a  room.  All  noise  of  battle 
had  ceased,  but  there  was  a  sound  as  of  many  people 
close  by.  At  last  I  sat  up  and  gradually  got  to  my  feet. 
The  movement  gave  me  intense  pain,  for  my  woimds 
were  now  highly  inflamed,  and  my  clothes  sticking  to 
them  made  them  dreadfully  sore.  At  last  I  got  up  and 
groped  my  way  to  the  door,  and,  opening  it,  at  once  saw 
where  I  was,  for  the  pain  had  brought  back  my  senses. 
I  had  been  lying  in  Travers's  little  writing-room  at  the 
end  of  the  passage,  into  which  I  made  my  way.  There 
was  no  gas,  and  the  drawing-room  door  was  closed ;  but 
from  the  open  dining-room  the  glimmer  of  a  candle 
feebly  lighted  up  the  hall,  in  which  half  a  dozen  sleeping 
figures  could  be  discerned,  while  the  room  itself  was 
crowded  with  men.  The  table  was  covered  with  plates, 
glasses,  and  bottles ;  but  most  of  the  men  were  asleep  in 
the  chairs  or  on  the  floor,  a  few  were  smoking  cigars, 
and  one  or  two  with  their  helmets  on  were  still  engaged 
at  supper,  occasionally  grunting  out  an  observation  be- 
tweeen  the  moulhfuls. 

"  Sind  wackere  Soldaten,  diese  Englischen  Freiwilli- 
gen,"  said  a  broad-shouldered  brute,  stuffing  a  great 
liunch  of  beef  into  his  mouth  with  a  silver  fork,  an  im- 
plement I  should  think  he  must  have  been  using  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life. 

"  Ja,  ja,"  replied  a  comrade,  who  was  lolling  back  in 
his  chair  with  a  pair  of  very  dirty  legs  on  the  table,  and 
one  of  poor  Travers's  best  cigars  in  his  mouth ;  "  Sie  so 
gut  laufen  konnen." 

"  Ja  w  ^hl,"  responded  the  first  speaker ;  "  aber  sind 
nicht  eben     >  schnell  wie  die  Franzosischen  Mobloten." 

"  Gewiss,"  grunted  a  hulking  lout  from  the  floor,  lean- 
ing on  his  elbow,  and  sending  out  a  cloud  of  smoke  from 
his  ugly  jaws;  und  da  sind  hier  etwa  gute  Schulzen." 


60  TnE   BATTLE    OP   BORKIXG  : 

"  Hast  recht,  lange  Peter, "  answered  number  one ; 
*'  wenn  die  Schurken  so  gut  exerciren  wie  schiitzen  konn- 
ten,  so  waren  wir  heute  niclit  bier  !  " 

"  liecbt !  reclit !  "  said  the  second  ;  "  das  exerciren 
macht  den  guten  Soldaten." 

Wbat  more  criticisms  on  tbe  shortcomings  of  our  un- 
fortunate volunteers  might  have  passed  I  did  not  stop  to 
hear,  being  interrupted  by  a  sound  on  the  stairs.  Mrs. 
Travers  was  standing  on  the  landing-place ;  I  limped  up 
the  stairs  to  meet  her.  Among  the  many  pictures  of 
those  fatal  days  engraven  on  my  memory,  I  remember 
none  more  clearly  than  the  mournful  aspect  of  my  poor 
friend,  widowed  and  motherless  within  a  few  moments, 
as  she  stood  there  in  her  white  dress,  coming  forth  like  a 
ghost  from  the  chamber  of  the  dead,  the  candle  she  held 
lighting  up  her  face,  and  contrasting  its  pallor  with  the 
dark  hair  that  fell  disordered  round  it,  its  beauty  radiant 
even  through  features  worn  with  fatigue  and  sorrow. 
She  was  calm  and  even  tearless,  though  the  trembling 
lip  told  of  the  effort  to  restrain  the  emotion  she  felt. 
"  Dear  friend,"  she  said,  taking  my  hand,  "  I  was  coming 
to  seek  you ;  forgive  m}^  selfishness  in  neglecting  you  so 
long  ;  but  you  M'ill  understand  " — glancing  at  the  door 
above — "  how   occupied   I   have    been."      "  Where,"   I 

began,  "is" "  my  boy?"  she  answered,  anticipating 

my  question.  "  I  have  laid  him  by  his  father.  But  now 
your  wounds  must  be  cared  for ;  how  pale  and  faint  you 
look  ! — rest  here  a  moment," — and,  descending  to  the 
dining-room,  she  returned  with  some  wine,  which  I  grate- 
fully drank,  and  then,  making  me  sit  down  on  the  top 
step  of  the  stairs,  she  brought  water  and  linen,  and  cut- 
ting off  the  sleeve  of  my  coat,  bathed  and  bandaged  my 
wounds,  'Twas  I  who  felt  selfish  for  thus  adding  to  lier 
troubles ;  but  in  truth  I  was  too  weak  to  have  much  will 
left,  and  stood  in  need  of  the  help  which  she  forced  me 


REMINISCENCES   OF   A   VOLUNTEER.  61 

to  accept ;  and  the  dressing  of  my  wounds  afforded  in- 
describable relief.  While  thus  tending  me,  she  explained 
in  broken  sentences  how  matters  stood.  Every  room  but 
her  own,  and  the  litthe  parlor  into  which  she  with  Wood's 
help  had  carried  me,  was  full  of  soldiers.  Wood  had 
been  taken  away  to  work  at  repairing  the  railroad,  and 
Lucy  had  run  off  from  fright ;  but  the  cook  had  stopped 
at  her  post,  and  had  served  up  supper  and  opened  the 
cellar  for  the  soldiers'  use ;  she  did  not  understand  what 
they  said,  and  they  were  rough  and  boorish,  but  not  un- 
civil. I  should  now  go,  she  said,  when  my  wounds  were 
dressed,  to  look  after  my  own  home,  where  I  might  be 
wanted;  for  herself,  she  wished  only  to  be  allowed  to 
remain  watching  there — pointing  to  the  room  where  lay 
the  bodies  of  her  husband  and  child — where  she  would 
not  be  molested.  I  felt  that  her  advice  was  good.  I 
could  be  of  no  use  as  protection,  and  I  had  an  anxious 
longing  to  know  what  had  become  of  my  sick  mother 
and  sister ;  besides,  some  arrangement  must  be  made  for 
the  burial.  I  therefore  limped  away.  There  was  no 
need  to  express  thanks  on  either  side,  and  the  grief  was 
too  deep  to  be  reached  by  any  outward  show  of  sym- 
pathy. 

Outside  the  house  there  was  a  good  deal  of  move- 
ment and  bustle  ;  many  carts  going  along,  the  wagoners, 
from  Sussex  and  Surrey,  evidently  impressed  and  guarded 
by  soldiers ;  and  although  no  gas  was  burning,  the  road 
towards  Kingston  was  well  lighted  by  torches,  held  by 
persons  standing  at  short  intervals  in  line,  who  had  been 
seized  for  the  duty,  some  of  them  the  tenants  of  neigh- 
boring villas.  Almost  the  first  of  these  torch-bearers  I 
came  to  was  an  old  gentleman  whose  face  I  was  well  ac- 
quainted with,  from  having  frequently  traveled  up  and 
down  in  the  same  train  with  him.  lie  was  a  senior  clerk 
in  a  government  office,  I  believe,  and  was  a  mild-looking 


62  TUB   BATTLE    OF   DOEKING : 

old  man,  with  a  prim  face  and  a  long  neck,  which  he 
used  to  wrap  in  a  wide,  double  neckcloth,  a  thing  even 
in  those  days  seldom  seen.  Even  in  that  moment  of  bit- 
terness, I  could  not  help  being  ^used  by  the  absurd 
figure  this  poor  old  fellow  presented,  with  his  solemn 
face  and  long  cravat  doing  penance  with  a  torch  in  front 
of  his  own  door,  to  light  up  the  path  of  our  conquerors. 
But  a  more  serious  object  now  presented  itself — a  corpo- 
ral's guard  passing  by,  with  two  English  volunteers  in 
charge,  their  hands  tied  behind  their  backs.  They  cast 
an  imploring  glance  at  me,  and  I  stepped  into  the  road 
to  ask  the  corpoi-al  what  was  the  matter,  and  even  ven- 
tured, as  he  was  passing  on,  to  lay  my  hand  on  his 
sleeve.  "  Auf  dem  Wege,  Spitzbube  !  "  cried  the  brute, 
lifting  his  rifle  as  if  to  knock  me  down.  "  Must  one  pri- 
soners who  fire  at  us  let  shoot,"  he  went  on  to  add  ;  and 
shot  the  poor  fellows  would  have  been,  I  suppose,  if  I 
had  not  interceded  with  an  ofiicer  who  happened  to  be 
riding  by.  "  Her  Hauptmann,"  I  cried,  as  loud  as  I 
could,  "  is  this  your  discipline,  to  let  unarmed  prisoners 
be  shot  without  orders  ?  "  The  ofiicer,  thus  appealed  to, 
reined  in  his  horse,  and  halted  the  guard  till  he  heard  what 
I  had  to  say.  My  knowledge  of  other  languages  here  stood 
me  in  good  stead  ;  for  the  prisoners,  north  country  factory 
hands,  apparently,  were  of  course  utterly  unable  to  make 
themselves  understood,  and  did  not  even  know  in  wliat 
they  had  ofiended.  I  therefore  interpreted  their  expla- 
nation ;  they  had  been  left  behind  while  skirmishing  near 
Ditton,  in  a  barn,  and  coming  out  of  their  hiding-phice 
in  the  midst  of  a  party  of  the  enemy,  with  their  rifles  in 
their  hands,  the  latter  thought  they  were  going  to  tire  at 
them  from  behind.  It  was  a  wonder  they  were  not  shot 
down  on  the  spot.  The  captain  heard  the  tale,  and  then 
told  the  guard  to  let  them  go,  and  they  slunk  off*  at  once 
into  a  by-road.      lie  was  a  fine  soldier-like  man,  but 


EEimaSCENCES   OF   A   VOLU^'TEEE.  63 

nothing  could  exceed  the  insolence  of  his  manner,  which 
was  perhaps  all  the  greater  because  it  seemed  not  inten- 
tional, but  to  arise  from  a  sense  of  immeasurable  supe- 
riority. Between  the  lame  freiwilliger  pleading  for  his 
comrades,  and  the  captain  of  the  conquering  army, 
there  was,  in  his  view,  an  infinite  gul£  Had  the  two 
men  been  dogs,  their  fate  could  not  have  been  decided 
more  contemptuously.  They  were  let  go  simply  because 
they  were  not  worth  keeping  as  prisoners,  and  perhaps 
to  kill  any  living  thing  without  cause  went  against  the 
hcmptincmn'' s  sense  of  justice.  But  why  speak  of  this 
insult  in  particular  ?  Had  not  every  man  who  lived  then 
his  tale  to  tell  of  humiliation  and  degradation  ?  For  it 
was  the  same  story  everywhere.  After  the  first  stand  in 
line,  and  when  once  they  had  got  us  on  the  march,  the 
enemy  laughed  at  us.  Our  handful  of  regular  troops  was 
sacrificed  almost  to  a  man  in  a  vain  conflict  with  num- 
bers ;  our  volunteers  and  militia,  with  oflicers  who  did 
not  know  their  work,  without  ammunition  or  equipment, 
or  staif  to  superintend,  starving  in  the  midst  of  plenty, 
we  had  soon  become  a  helpless  mob,  fighting  desperately 
here  and  there,  but  with  whom,  as  a  manojuvering  army, 
the  disciplined  invaders  did  just  what  they  pleased.  Happy 
those  whose  bones  whitened  the  fields  of  Surrey  ;  they  at 
least  were  spared  the  disgrace  we  lived  to  endure.  Even 
you,  who  have  never  known  what  it  is  to  live  otherwise 
than  on  sufierance,  even  your  cheeks  burn  when  we  talk 
of  these  days;  think,  then,  what  those  endured,  who, 
like  your  grandfather,  had  been  citizens  of  the  proudest 
nation  on  earth,  which  had  never  known  disgrace  or  de- 
feat, and  whose  boast  it  nsed  to  be  that  they  bote  a  flag 
on  which  the  sun  never  set !  We  had  heard  of  generos- 
ity in  war ;  we  found  none  ;  the  war  was  made  by  us,  it 
was  said,  and  we  must  take  the  consequences.  London 
and  our  only  arsenal  captured,  we  were  at  the  mercy  of 


64  THE    BATTLE    OF    DORKING: 

our  captors,  and  right  heavily  did  they  tread  on  our 
necks.  Need  I  tell  you  the  rest  ? — of  the  ransom  we  had 
to  pay,  and  the  taxes  raised  to  cover  it,  which  keep  us 
paupers  to  this  day? — the  brutal  frankness  that  an- 
nounced we  must  give  place  to  a  new  naval  Power,  and 
he  made  harmless  for  revenge  ? — the  victorious  troops 
living  at  free  quarters,  the  yoke  they  put  on  us  made  the 
more  galling  that  their  requisitions  had  a  semblance  of 
method  and  legality  ?  Better  have  been  robbed  at  first 
hand  by  the  soldiery  themselves,  than  through  our  own 
magistrates  made  the  instruments  for  extortion.  How 
we  lived  through  the  degradation  we  daily  and  hourly 
underwent,  I  hardly  even  now  understand.  And  what 
was  there  left  to  us  to  live  for  ?  Stripped  of  our  colonies ; 
Canada  and  the  West  Indies  gone  to  America ;  Australia 
forced  to  separate;  India  lost  for  ever  after  the  English 
there  had  all  been  destroyed,  vainly  trying  to  hold  the 
country  when  cut  oft'  from  aid  by  their  countrymen  ;  Gib- 
raltar and  Malta  ceded  to  the  new  naval  Power;  Ireland 
independent,  and  in  perpetual  anarchy  and  revolution. 
When  I  look  at  my  country  as  it  is  now — its  trade  gone, 
its  factories  silent,  its  harbors  empty,  a  prey  to  pauper- 
ism and  decay — when  I  see  all  this,  and  think  what 
Great  Britain  was  in  my  youth,  I  ask  myself  whether  I 
have  really  a  heart  or  any  sense  of  patriotism  that  I 
should  have  witnessed  such  degradation  and  still  care  to 
live !  France  was  different.  There,  too,  they  had  to  eat 
the  bread  of  tribulation  under  the  yoke  of  the  conqueror; 
their  fall  was  hardly  more  sudden  or  violent  than  ours; 
but  war  could  not  take  away  their  rich  soil ;  they  had  no 
colonies  to  lose;  their  broad  lands,  which  made  their 
wealth,  remained  to  them ;  and  they  rose  again  from  the 
blow.  But  our  people  could  not  be  got  to  see  how  arti- 
ficial our  prosperity  was — that  it  all  rested  on  foreign 
trade  and  financial  credit ;  that  the  course  of  trade  once 


EEMINISCEKOES    OF    A    VOI.UNTEKR.  65 

tuniecl  away  from  us,  even  for  a  time,  it  might  never  re- 
turn ;  and  that  our  credit  once  shaken,  might  never  be 
restored.  To  hear  men  talk  in  tliose  days,  you  would 
have  thought  that  Providence  had  ordained  that  our  Go- 
vernment should  always  borrow  at  three  per  cent.,  and 
that  trade  came  to  us  because  we  lived  in  a  foggy  little 
island  set  in  a  boisterous  sea.  They  could  not  be  got  to 
see  that  the  wealth  heaped  up  on  every  side  was  not 
created  in  the  country,  but  in  India  and  China,  and  other 
parts  of  the  world ;  and  that  it  would  be  quite  possible 
for  the  people  who  made  money  by  buying  and  selling 
the  natural  treasures  of  the  earth,  to  go  and  live  in  other 
places,  and  take  their  profits  with  them.  Nor  would 
men  believe  that  there  could  ever  be  an  end  to  our  coal 
and  iron,  or  that  they  would  get  to  be  so  much  dearer 
than  the  coal  and  iron  of  America,  that  it  would  no 
longer  be  worth  while  to  work  them,  and  that,  therefore, 
we  ought  to  insure  against  the  loss  of  our  artificial  posi- 
tion as  the  great  centre  of  trade,  by  making  ourselves 
secure,  and  strong,  and  respected.  We  thought  we  were 
living  in  a  commercial  millenium,  which  must  last  for  a 
thousand  years,  at  least.  After  all,  the  bitterest  part  of 
our  reflection  is,  that  all  this  misery  and  decay  might 
have  been  so  easily  prevented,  and  that  we  brought  it 
about  ourselves  by  our  own  shortsighted  recklessness. 
There,  across  the  narrow  straits,  was  the  writing  on  the 
"wall,  but  we  would  not  choose  to  read  it.  The  warnings 
of  the  few  were  drowned  in  the  voice  of  the  multitude. 
Power  was  then  passing  away  from  the  class  which  had 
been  used  to  rule,  and  to  face  political  dangers,  and 
which  had  brought  the  nation  with  honor  unsullied 
through  former  struggles,  into  the  hands  of  the  lower 
classes,  uneducated,  untrained  to  the  use  of  political 
rights,  and  swayed  by  demagogues;  and  the  few  who 
were  wise  in  their  generation,  were  denounced  as  alarm- 


66  THE   BATTLE    OF   DORKIXG. 

ists  or  as  aristocrats  who  sought  their  own  aggrandize- 
ment by  wasting  public  money  on  bloated  armaments. 
The  rich  were  idle  and  luxurious;  the  poor  grudged  the 
cost  of  defence.  Politics  had  become  a  mere  bidding  for 
Radical  votes,  and  those  who  should  have  led  the  nation, 
stooped  rather  to  pander  to  the  selfishness  of  the  day, 
and  humored  the  popular  cry  which  denounced  those 
who  would  secure  the  defence  of  the  nation  by  enforced 
arming  of  its  manhood,  as  intei'fering  with  the  liberties 
of  the  people.  Truly  the  nation  was  ripe  for  a  fall ;  but 
when  I  reflect  how  a  little  firmness  and  self-denial,  or 
political  courage  and  foresight,  might  have  averted  the 
disaster,  I  feel  that  the  judgment  must  have  really  been 
deserved.  A  nation  too  selfish  to  defend  its  liberty, 
could  not  have  been  fit  to  retain  it.  To  you,  my  grand- 
children, who  are  now  going  to  seek  a  new  home  in  a 
more  prosperous  land,  let  not  this  bitter  lesson  be  lost 
upon  you  in  the  country  of  your  adoption.  For  me,  I 
am  too  old  to  begin  life  again  in  a  strange  country ;  and 
hard  and  evil  as  have  been  my  days,  it  is  not  much  to 
await  in  solitude  the  time  which  cannot  now  be  far  off, 
when  my  old<3»bones  will  be  laid  to  rest  in  the  soil  I  have 
loved  so  well,  and  whose  happiness  and  honor  I  have  so 
long  survived. 


•C\v  i 


f^m 


i-^ 


